Shotput kinematics made simple

We show that some results in the kinematics of a point particle can be easily recalled by introducing simple definitions. In particular, in the parabolic motion of a particle thrown from a height h above the origin O at an angle θ from the horizontal direction, the optimum angle θ* for reaching the maximum distance Rmax on the ground, measured from the origin, can be found by calculating the inverse tangent of the ratio between the initial velocity V_0 and the final velocity V_f. The value of R_max is itself found to be easily expressed as V_0 V_f/g, g being the acceleration due to gravity.