Question

puck 1 (1 kg) travels with velocity 20 m/s to the right when it collides with puck 2 (2 kg) which is initially at rest. after the collision, puck 1 moves with a velocity of 0 m/s. assume that no external forces are present and therefore the momentum for the system of pucks is conserved. what is the final velocity (in m/s) of puck 2 after the collision? tries 0/2

Answer 1

The final velocity of puck 2 after the collision is 10 m/s to the right.

Step-by-step explanation:

The final velocity (v2) of puck 2 can be calculated using the principle of conservation of momentum.

According to this principle, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. The momentum of puck 1 before the collision is calculated as:

puck 1 momentum before collision = mass of puck 1 x velocity of puck 1 = (1 kg)(20 m/s) = 20 kg·m/s

Since puck 2 is initially at rest, its momentum before the collision is zero:

puck 2 momentum before collision = 0 kg·m/s

After the collision, puck 1 comes to rest, so its final momentum is zero:

puck 1 momentum after collision = 0 kg·m/s

Since momentum is conserved, the total momentum after the collision is equal to the total momentum before the collision:

total momentum after collision = puck 1 momentum after collision + puck 2 momentum after collision

Since puck 1 momentum after collision is zero:

total momentum after collision = puck 2 momentum after collision

Therefore, puck 2 momentum after collision is also 20 kg·m/s. The final velocity of puck 2 can be calculated using its mass:

puck 2 momentum after collision = mass of puck 2 x final velocity of puck 2

20 kg·m/s = (2 kg) x final velocity of puck 2

The final velocity of puck 2 is 10 m/s to the right.