Final answer:
The Coriolis force is negligible for small-scale projectiles and is unlikely to cause a projectile to miss its target from below. Larger-scale phenomena such as wind patterns are significantly affected by the Coriolis force, which causes a deflection to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a projectile is launched east or west from the equator, the Coriolis force would indeed be vertical due to the Earth's rotation. However, if the projectile misses its target from below, it's unlikely that this could be directly attributed to the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force does act on moving objects, but because of Earth's small angular velocity, this force is generally negligible on small scales like projectiles. It affects large-scale movements significantly, such as in wind patterns or ocean currents, but not precisely the trajectory of small-scale projectiles. Nonetheless, when considering motion in a rotating frame of reference, such as Earth, one has to account for the Coriolis force, which causes an apparent deflection of moving objects. In the Northern Hemisphere, the deflection is to the right, and in the Southern Hemisphere, it is to the left. For a projectile that missed its target from below at the equator, other factors such as air resistance, initial velocity errors, or launch angle inaccuracies are more likely to be the cause rather than the Coriolis effect.