Projectiles
This picture is a demonstration of projectile motion. The projectile is a basketball. The ball is thrown in an upward direction (air friction is ignored) moving horizontally with a constant speed. It has been given an initial drive, and it moves through the air only under the force of gravity. A projectile is any object that once projected continues in motion by its own inertia and is influenced only by the downward force of gravity. In the case of a projectile that is moving upwards, there is a downward force as well as a downward acceleration. Gravity will act downward upon the basketball, which will affect its vertical motion.