Target shooting is a popular activity appreciated by many people, so much so that it is also practiced at a competitive level. While many people may have fired a firearm of some kind, few of these people actually realize how much physics is involved in shooting. So what exactly is ballistics? Ballistics is the science or study of the movement of projectiles, and in the case of most firearms, these projectiles are projectiles. There are two things that affect the flight of a bullet once it has been fired from the gun. These things are the air resistance on the projectile and the force of gravity acting on the projectile. The gravitational force acting on the projectile is always in a constant direction, i.e. downward, at a speed of 9.81 m/s^2. However, the force of air resistance on the projectile does not always have a constant direction. This is because the trajectory of the projectile changes, so the direction of air resistance on the projectile also changes. So what determines the trajectory of the bullet once it leaves the barrel? Aside from gravity, it's the weight, shape, and speed of the projectile...