A bullet of mass 0.0019 kg moving at 487 m/s embeds itself in a large fixed piece of wood and travels 0.55 m before coming to rest. Assume that the deceleration of the bullet is constant.

Question

What force is exerted by the wood on the bullet?

Answer 1

Consider the work done by the bullet on the block. It gets turned into heat, and equals the initial kinetic energy of the bullet.

Force x distance = Initial Kinetic energy

F = (1/2)M V^2/0.55 = 410 N