What is a Ballistics Pendulum and How Can I Use it for My Physics Project?

[sinackular]

Good day. I'm a 11th grade IB student and i need help thinking of a nice physics project. Could you guys recommend me any nice ones? Preferably ones that would take 2 weeks to a month since i need to complete a certain number of hours doing the project. I'd take into consideration any project just as long it's related to physics and the project will be a bit long. Thanks a bunch!

 

[DyslexicHobo]

I don't know how in depth you want it, but a ballistics block would be fun. It's a block used to calculate the velocity of a projectile.

Steps in using a ballistics pendulum:
1) Hang the pendulum in a near-frictionless manner (from fishing line, etc)
2) Shoot a projectile at the block
3) Record how far the blocks move (note that the projectile must stick to the block in order to keep calculations simple)
4) Use conservation of momentum equation to solve for the initial speed of the bullet. You can then go on to calculate the force on the bullet from the gun, etc.