Katherine Freire

Rodrigo Anda
Juan Esteban Bustamante
25/January/2014
Using a ballistic pendulum to determine the initial velocity of a bullet
Objective: To determine the initial velocity of a bullet by applying theory of conservation of
momentum as it collides inelastically to a hanging block that lifts as a pendulum.
Hypothesis: If we find out the final height reached by a pendulum block after an inelastic
collision with a projectile, then we can determine the initial velocity of the projectile before
the collision because of the law of conservation of momentum.
Theoretical fundamentals: The law of conservation of momentum states that the original
momentum of a system (which is mass times velocity) MUST equal the final momentum of the
system after a collision. In this example, the initial speed times the mass of the bullet gives the
initial momentum, and after the collision, that momentum must equal the combined mass of
the ballistic pendulum and the bullet times the speed of that mass. Another law used is the law
of conservation of energies. Since the collision is inelastic, this law can only be used once the
bullet is embedded into the ballistic pendulum.
Formula:
M= mass of pendulum block
m= mass of bullet
v= velocity of bullet
V= velocity of block+bullet
h= average height
g= acceleration of gravity
mv = (M+m)V (Law of conservation of momentum)
(M+m)

= (M+m)gh (Law of conservation of energy)

*Isolate V in the second equation*
(M+m)

= 2(M+m)gh

= 2gh
V =
*Input V into the first equation*
mv = (M+m)
*solve for v*
v =

Materials: Toy gun, bb pellets, ballistic pendulum suspended by strings, balance, ruler, video
camera.

Procedure:
Using any material that is able to let a projectile embed into it and stay there, create a
block.
Using a balance, get the weight of the block and the weight of the projectile.
Mount the block so it is suspended in the air by cords.
Place a ruler behind the device.
Capture a video of the block while shooting a projectile into it.
Print a picture of the block before the collision, and a picture of the block at its
maximum height after the collision.
Calculate the difference in heights of the two pictures.
Repeat this until you get 10 heights.
Get an average of the values.
Using the averaged heights, and the masses of the system, use the equation of
conservation of momentum and conservation of energies and isolate the initial
velocity of the gun.

Results:
# of
trial
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Height
reached
(cm)
.7 1 .9 .8 .8 .9 1 1.1 .7 1.2

v =

Avg. h: .91cm (.0091m) m: .2g (.0002kg) M: 5.5g (.0055kg) g: 9.81m/s
v =

v = 12.04m/s
Conclusions:
The initial speed of a bullet can be calculated by observing the final height of a pendulum block
heated by the bullet, as long as you know the mass of the block and the mass of the bullet,
thanks to the conservation of momentum, and conservation of mechanical energy principles.
The results of the experiment demonstrated that the initial velocity of the bullet was directly
proportional to the square root of the maximum height reached by the pendulum block. After
doing the experiment , it was determined that the speed of the airsoft pellets shot by a cheap
plastic bb gun was 12 m/s, which is an extremely low value compared to well designed air
pressure bb guns, that can shoot an airsoft pellet from 75 m/s to 274 m/s. Some of the errors
and uncertainties that could have manipulated our results can be air friction, difference in
gravitational acceleration, malfunctions in the gun that could make the projectile move and
work differently, and the precision at the shooting aim because it was not always the same
spot.

Bibliography:
Eccles, S. (n.d.) Ballistics. Retrieved January 2014 from:
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNBLST.html
Giancoli, D. (2005). Physics: Principles with Applications. New Jersey: Prentice Hall