Question

Dr. Kitten is playing pool when two of the pool balls collide. The balls are traveling towards each other head on. The cue ball has a velocity of 3m/s while the 2nd ball has a velocity of -5m/s. Once they collide the balls head in opposite directions. What is the velocity of the cue ball if the cue ball has a velocity of -1.5m/s. All the pool balls have a mass of approximately .9 kg.

Answer 1

The final velocity of the 2nd ball after colliding with the cue ball is 2.5m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, the cue ball collides with the 2nd ball, resulting in the two balls heading in opposite directions. The cue ball initially has a velocity of 3m/s, while the 2nd ball has a velocity of -5m/s. After the collision, the cue ball has a velocity of -1.5m/s.

To determine the velocity of the 2nd ball after the collision, we can use the conservation of momentum. The total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. Since the two balls have equal masses, their momenta will be equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.

For the cue ball with a final velocity of -1.5m/s, we can write the equation: (mass of cue ball) x (-1.5m/s) + (mass of 2nd ball) x (velocity of 2nd ball) = 0. Solving for the velocity of the 2nd ball, we find that it has a final velocity of 2.5m/s.