Question

During a circus act, a performer thrills the crowd by catching a cannon ball shot at him. The cannon ball has a mass of 7.5 kg and the horizontal component of its velocity is 8.85 m/s when the 73.5-kg performer catches it.

Answer 1

The recoil velocity is 0.819 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

Given that,

Mass of ball m= 7.5 kg

Velocity v= 8.85 m/s

Mass of performer m'= 73.5 kg

Suppose if the performer is on nearly friction less roller skates, we need to calculate his recoil velocity

We need to calculate the recoil velocity

Using law of conservation momentum

`mv=(m+m')v'`

Where, m = mass of ball

m' = mass of performer

v = velocity of ball

Put the value into the formula

`v'=(mv)/(m+m')`

Put the value into the formula

`v'=(7.5*8.85)/(7.5+73.5)`

`v'=0.819\ m/s`

Hence, The recoil velocity is 0.819 m/s.