FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA SHAH ALAM

PHYSIC 433
LAB REPORT 3 –BALLISTIC PENDULUM (MOMENTUM AND ENERGY)

LECTURER’S NAME : DR MOHD ZAKI BIN YUSOFF

DATE OF SUBMISSION : 9 JULY 2023
GROUP : NAS203F1A

STUDENT’S NAME :
NO. NAME STUDENT ID

1. ABDUL HAKIM BIN ABD AZIZ AL RAHMAN 2023999759

2. MOHD AZUAN AZHAR BIN MD ZAIN 2023335053
3. MUHAMMAD AIZUDDIN BIN ABD AZIZ 2023770767
4. AZIZ BIN ISMAIL 2023398955

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 CONTENTS
1.0 PRE-LAB QUESTION ............................................................................................................. 3
2.0 THEORY ................................................................................................................................... 7
3.0 OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 9
4.0 APPARATUS ............................................................................................................................ 9
5.0 PROCEDURES .......................................................................................................................10
6.0 DATA, RESULTS & ANALYSIS..........................................................................................11
6.1 Results ..................................................................................................................................11
6.2 Calculation ...........................................................................................................................12
7.0 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................15

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1.0 PRE-LAB QUESTION

1. What is a ballistic pendulum?

The ballistic pendulum is an apparatus used to measure the speed of fast-moving projectile,
such as a bullet. In this experiment, the bullet is presented with the spring gun and the metal
ball. A bullet of mass (m) is fired into a large block of wood of mass (M) suspended from
some light wires. The bullet embeds in the block, and the entire systems swings through a
height (h). Based from the experiment, the velocity of the metal ball can be calculated using
physics theory, the momentum principal.

2. A bullet of mass m is fired from a gun with velocity u and it strikes and embedded in
a wooden pendulum of mass M which was initially at rest. Just after hitting the
pendulum, the bullet and pendulum moved together with velocity v. Both the bullet
and the pendulum then moved a maximum vertical distance h.
a) By applying the conservation of momentum before an immediately after the bullet
hits the pendulum, write down an equation v in terms of m, u and M.

Basic momentum formula:

m u = (M + m) v
m×u
v=
M+m

Where;
v = velocity of the pendulum
m = mass of the bullet
M = mass of the pendulum
u = velocity of the bullet / metal ball

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b) By applying the conservation of energy just after the bullet hits the pendulum until
it moved a maximum vertical distance h, write down an equation v in terms of m,
M, h and g (acceleration due to gravity).

Basic momentum formula:

m u = (M + m) v

Where;
m = Mass of the bullet / metal ball
M = Mass of the pendulum
v = Velocity of pendulum after collision
u = Velocity of the bullet / metal ball

We derive new equation to find v:

KE = PE
1
(M + m) × v2 = (M + m) × gh
2

v2 (�+�)×�ℎ
= 1
(�+�)
2

v 2
�ℎ
= 1
(2)
v2 �ℎ×2
= 1
(2×2)

v2 = 2�ℎ

v = √2 �ℎ
Where;
v = Velocity of pendulum after collision,
g = Gravity
h = Height of pendulum

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 c) Write down u in terms of m, M, h and g by substituting the equation in part (a)
into the equation in part (b).
(a) m u = (M + m) v

(b) v = √2 gh
(M+m)√2 gh
(c) u =
m

3. In an experiment to determine u, state the quantities that must be measured in order

to get the value of u? Hint: Look at the equation derived in 2(c).

In order to get the velocity of the bullet, we can use the basic formula of momentum as
stated in 2a. However, the existed formula must be derived because the basic formula does
not support the information during conducting the experiment. So, firstly we must search
the velocity of the pendulum swinging by using the formula in 2b. Then, substitute the
equation so that the value of u can be obtain.

4. Produce a table to tabulate the quantities measured in the above experiment to

determine u.

M+m
h2 × 10−3(m) h1 × 10−3(m) h = h2 u= √2gh
m
Trial − h1 × 10−3(m) (m/s)
±0. 0001 ±0. 0001 ±0. 0001
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

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5. Write down the expression to determine the uncertainty in u based on the equation
in 2(c).
By using this formula:
∑(xi − μ)2
1) Population variance, σ 2 =
N−1

∑(xi − μ)2
2) Std. deviation, σ = √
N−1

Then, the uncertainty can be obtained.

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2.0 THEORY

Pendulums are relatively simple devices and have been studied since the 17th century. Italian
scientist Galileo Galilei began experiments using pendulums in the early 1600s (Jaebi, 2017).
There are many types of pendulums in this world and different kinds of pendulum serves for
different purposes. A ballistic pendulum is a good, real-life example of the principle of
conservation of momentum. For example, crime lab technicians use a ballistic pendulum to test
firearms, and a wrecking ball's force will bring down a building.

Figure 1: Principle of the ballistic pendulum modified from

The ballistic pendulum is a device which, on the basis of momentum of energy conservation,
allows the calculation of the speed of a projectile which engages the, initially resting, pendulum
body by an inelastic collision. The amplitude of the following oscillation is proportional to the
projectile velocity shown in Figure 1.

The derivation of the evaluation formula for the ballistic pendulum is based on principle of the
ballistic pendulum modified from equation [2]. A complete inelastic collision is applied. For
conservation of momentum it holds:

Mv0 = (M + m)v (1)

Where;
M = The pendulum mass
v = The speed of pendulum and projectile according to the completely inelastic impact

The kinetic energy of the pendulum is converted into potential energy via the deflection
(angle, a) of the pendulum. It must be noted that the kinetic energy of M + m together after the
impact is somewhat smaller than the kinetic energy of the diabolo before the impact. This is

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because, in the case of the inelastic collision, energy is used to deform the collision partners.
This energy can be calculated, but it does not play any role in the exact derivation of the
evaluation formula. Therefore, the following applies to energy conservation:

M+m
v2 = (M + m)g ℎ (2)
2

From this velocity follows:

V = √2 g ℎ

Inserting into equation (1) gives:

M
V0 = (1 + ) √2 g ℎ (3)
m

The angle, a should be measured. Therefore, h is replaced by:

ℎ = lp (1 − cos α)

With lp the pendulum length and g the gravitational acceleration. This gives the formula
required for the evaluation of the planned experiment.
V0 𝑀
= (1 + ) √2 𝑔 lp� (1 − cos α) (4)
m

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3.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To determine the velocity of a horizontally projected object (a metal ball) fired from a
spring gun.
2. To use a ballistic pendulum to determine the velocity of a projectile. To verify this
velocity by measuring the range of the projectile.

4.0 APPARATUS

 Ballistic pendulum
 Ball bearing
 Spring gun
 Hollow pendulum
 Meter rule
 Electronic digital balance

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5.0 PROCEDURES

1. The ballistic pendulum has been setup as shown in the Figure 2 below.
2. The ball bearing and the hollow pendulum mass are recorded using electronic digital
balance.
3. The ball bearing was placed on the spring gun, pulled back the spring and then was
released.
4. The ball bearing hit the pendulum and the pendulum swayed away.
5. The height of the pendulum that being swayed and catch by the pendulum catcher are
being recorded.
6. This experiment were repeated until the nine trials.

String
Pendulum catcher

Hollow pendulum

Spring gun
h2
Ball bearing h1

Figure 2: The setup of apparatus for this experiment.

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6.0 DATA, RESULTS & ANALYSIS

6.1 Results

Mass of metal ball, m = (23.1 ± 0.1) × 10−3kg

Mass of pendulum, M = (116.0 ± 1.0) × 10−3kg
Acceleration due to gravity, g= 9.81 m/s2

Table 1: The data of h2 and u collected after the experiment was carried out.
𝑴+𝒎
Trial h2 × 10−3(m) h1 × 10−3(m) 𝒉 = 𝒉𝟐 − 𝒉𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟑(𝒎) 𝒖= √𝟐𝒈𝒉
𝒎
(m/s)
±0. 0001 ±0. 0001 ±𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟐
1 123 48 5.84
2 121 46 5.72
3 122 47 5.78
4 122 47 5.78
5 122 75 47 5.78
6 121 46 5.72
7 121 46 5.72
8 121 46 5.72
9 121 46 5.72
ū 5.75

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6.2 Calculation
i. Calculation of velocity, u

Trial Velocity, u
−3 −3
(116.0 × 10 ) + (23.1 × 10 )
1 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (48 × 10−3) = 5. 84 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
2 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (46 × 10−3) = 5. 72 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
3 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (47 × 10−3) = 5. 78 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
4 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (47 × 10−3) = 5. 78 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
5 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (47 × 10−3) = 5. 78 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
6 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (46 × 10−3) = 5. 72 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
7 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (46 × 10−3) = 5. 72 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
8 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (46 × 10−3) = 5. 72 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )
(116.0 × 10−3) + (23.1 × 10−3)
9 −3 × √2 × 9.81 × (46 × 10−3) = 5. 72 m/s
(23.1 × 10 )

ii. Calculation for average velocity, ū

5.84 + 5.72 + 5.78 + 5.78 + 5.78 + 5.72 + 5.72 + 5.72 + 5.72

ū= = 5.75m/s
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 iii. Differences of velocity (u) from average velocity (ū)
Trial Differences Trial Differences
1 (5.84 – 5.75) m/s = 0.09 m/s 6 (5.72 – 5.75) m/s = - 0.03 m/s
2 (5.72 – 5.75) m/s = - 0.03 m/s 7 (5.72 – 5.75) m/s = - 0.03 m/s
3 (5.78 - 5.75) m/s = 0.03 m/s 8 (5.72 – 5.75) m/s = - 0.03 m/s
4 (5.78 - 5.75) m/s = 0.03 m/s 9 (5.72 – 5.75) m/s = - 0.03 m/s
5 (5.78 - 5.75) m/s = 0.03 m/s

iv. Variances, σ2

2
∑(xi − μ)2
σ =
N−1
Where;
s2 = sample variance
xi = the value of the one observation
x = the mean value of all observations
n = the number of observations

(0.09)2 + (−0.03)2 + (0.03)2 + (0.03)2 + (0.03)2 + (−0.03)2 + (−0.03)2

+
σ=
2
(−0.03) + (−0.03)2
2

0.015 (9 − 1)
σ2 = = 1. 88 × 10−3m/s
8

v. Standard Deviation, σ

∑(xi − μ)2
σ= √
N−1

σ = √1.88 × 10−3
σ = 0.043 m/s

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vi. Uncertainty of Velocity
ū = 5.75 m/s
σ = 0.041 m/s

⸫ 5. 75 ± 0. 04 m/s

⸫ 5.71 ≤ 5.75 ≤ 5.79

vii. Percentage of Uncertainty (%)

uncertainty
Percentage of Uncertainty = × 100%
Actual Value
0.04
Percentage of Uncertainty = × 100%
5.75
Percentage of Uncertainty = 0. 7 %

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7.0 CONCLUSION

The experiment is all about the use of the principles of conservation of energy and
momentum in determining the velocity of the metal ball fired from spring gun through ballistic
pendulum. The apparatus were being setup as shown in Figure 2. This experiment were
repeated about nine (9) times so that we will get more accurate result for velocity calculation.
After that, the data are being calculated to get the uncertainty values for the velocity, u. From
the calculation it is being estimated that the uncertainty of the u, 5. 75 ± 0. 04 m/s. This value can
be accepted because the percentage of error or percentage of uncertainty only 0.7% which is
less than 5%. According to article by Pearson, any percentage difference that is less than 5%,
then it is indicate that the result is accurate. With this result, we can say that the law of
conservation of energy and momentum were verified in this experiment because there is no
external forces applied in the direction of motion and the used of projectile motion validates it.

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