A missile is fired with a launch velocity of 15000 ft/s at a target 1200 miles away. At what angle must it be fired to hit the target? how long after it is fired will the target be hit?

2 answers

The range is v^2/g sin2θ. So, solve for θ in

15000^2/16 sin2θ = 1200 * 5280

for the time, use θ to find when h=0:

h(t) = 15000sinθ t - 8t^2 = 0
angle is 32 degrees
time is 248 seconds