if you shoot a gun up in the air, how far up will it go before it starts falling back to earth?

Question

assuming the gun was your average rifle - maybe a 243

the bullet that is

Answer 1

that depends on one thing, the velocity (speed)of the bullet when it leaves the gun.
A .22 has a velocity of about 1800fps, more powerful rifles have higher velocity's, but once you know the speed you can calculate the height because gravity will work against the bullet at 9.8 meters per second per second. (no that is not a double type) so if your initial velocity is 1800 fps then that is 600 meters per second, and after one second the bullet will be traveling 590.2 meters per second or 1770.6 fps, you can just keep subtracting the 9.8 mps until you have 0, then add up all the speeds per second to arrive at your final height, but remember, just because your bullet has stopped dose not mean that gravity is not still trying to pull it back down, so one second after it has stopped your bullet is traveling 9.8 mps back down at you, and the next second it is traveling 19.8mps and in just over a minute (same time it took to reach its full height, 61.22 seconds) it is traveling at the original 600 mps or 1800fps, the bullet will also at this time be at the same height as when the journey started, and all this equals a hole in the top of your head 2 minutes and 2 seconds after you shoot a gun in the air!!

Answer 2

Depends on other things. There are different types of bullet--wadcutters, FMJs, hydroshocks... Each has different aerodynamic qualities that will impact how much drag it generates; each has different mass; each may be made of different materials (though usually lead); each may carry a different powder load, which will affect propulsion.

Also, are you firing it straigh up or at an angle? What is your altitude--thinner air produces less drag. What is the weather like--any humidity is going to affect it.

Whole lot of factors to consider. Be an interesting science project for a 6th grader!

Answer 3

You can solve v = vo - g t for 0, given vo= initial speed of a bullet (say 1000 ft/sec) and g= 32 ft/sec/sec. With that time, you can solve the displacement equation
x = vo*t - 0.5*g*t^2.
This is approximate in air, since there is a velocity-dependent friction component not considered in elementary physics

Answer 4

Depends on how many birds it hits.haa haa But I wouldnt recomment trying. A falling bullet is as deadly as when it leaves the barrel.

Answer 5

What difference does it make.....unless it hit a target that would do damage, personal or otherwise.
That's like asking if a person yells in the forest and no one is there to hear his /her voice, did they really yell ?

Answer 6

that depends on the initial velocity with which u shoot