Fired Bullet Formula: Calculate Fallout Height

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the fallout height of a bullet fired horizontally from a height of 2 meters with an initial velocity of 500 m/s. Participants explore the effects of gravity on the bullet's trajectory while assuming no air resistance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between horizontal and vertical motion, questioning how long it takes for the bullet to travel a horizontal distance of 1000 meters while falling under gravity. Some suggest using kinematic equations to determine the fallout height.

Discussion Status

There are multiple interpretations of the problem, with some participants providing equations to describe the bullet's trajectory. Guidance is offered regarding the time of flight and the effects of gravity, but no consensus on a definitive solution has been reached.

Contextual Notes

Assumptions include the bullet traveling in a vacuum and the neglect of air resistance, which may not reflect real-world conditions. The discussion also touches on the implications of the bullet's mass and the curvature of the Earth at high velocities.

Zipher
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ok here's the thing. i fire a bullet at velocity (let's say static velocity, no acceleration) of 500m per sec. let's say that bullet's mass is 5g. what is the formula of its fallout?
i mean if i fire the bullet at height 2m straight forward, at what height would it be at 1000m after fired?
 
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Zipher said:
ok here's the thing. i fire a bullet at velocity (let's say static velocity, no acceleration) of 500m per sec. let's say that bullet's mass is 5g. what is the formula of its fallout?
i mean if i fire the bullet at height 2m straight forward, at what height would it be at 1000m after fired?

If you assume that is is not decelerating in air (assume it's flying in a vacuum) then it will only accelerate towards the ground. You can find how long it would take it to fly 1km, and then calculate how far it fell in that amount of time. Use your kinematic equations, it's essentially 1/2 of a ballistic trajectory. It sounds to me like the bullet will need to be going faster or it might hit the ground before it reaches 1km, however.

EDIT: By the way, if the bullet is traveling in a vacuum, its mass does not matter. Interesting side note...
 
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Theoretically, the bullet will fall at exactly the same rate as it would if you just dropped it. Its vertical acceleration due to gravity is independent of its horizontal motion.
 
Zipher said:
ok here's the thing. i fire a bullet at velocity (let's say static velocity, no acceleration) of 500m per sec. let's say that bullet's mass is 5g. what is the formula of its fallout?
i mean if i fire the bullet at height 2m straight forward, at what height would it be at 1000m after fired?

[tex]y_f = y_i + v_{yi} t - {1 \over 2} g t^2[/tex]
Setting the origin at the initial point and assuming that the initial fdirection is purely horizontal, this simplifies to [itex]y_f = - {1\over2} g t^2[/itex].

In the x direction (again setting the origin at the initial position)
[tex]x_f = x_i + v_{x} t = v_{x} t[/tex]

Isolating t in the second formula and plugging in the first, one gets
[tex]y_f = -{1 \over 2} g { x_f^2 \over v_x^2 }[/tex]

Which shows the parabolic shape of the trajectory and its curvature. In that form, you simply have to plug in the value of the horizontal distance traveled and you get the value of the y coordinate.

Of course, this has nothing to do with real trajectories because of the large effect of air drag. (and if v_x is is made huge, one would have to worry about the curvature of th Earth at some point :-p )

(and if the initial velocity is really huge, at some point one would have to take into account that the force of gravity is not simply given by mg)
 
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As Brewnog said, it will take the same amount of time to reach the ground as if it fell from 2m (~.6 s) so at a velocity of 500m/s the bullet will have a range of about 300m.

Just apply the basic equations of a falling body.

[tex]s = -\frac 1 2 g t^2 + V_0 t + h[/tex]

to get the time of flight, then use that time and the constant horizontal velocity to get the range.
 

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