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A cue ball with a mass of 0.17 kg hits a stationary striped ball with a mass of 0.16 kg. Before the collision, the cue ball is moving at a velocity of 3 m/s. After the collision, the cue ball is moving in the opposite direction at a velocity of 1 m/s. How fast does the striped ball move after the collision?

User Burax
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2 Answers

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Final answer:

To find the striped ball's velocity after the collision, apply conservation of momentum and solve the resulting equation. After plugging in the given values, the final velocity of the striped ball can be determined.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is Physics, specifically related to the conservation of momentum and collisions. We can use the principle of conservation of linear momentum to solve this problem, assuming the collision is elastic given that the velocities after the collision are mentioned. According to the law of conservation of momentum, in a closed system with no external forces, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision.

To calculate the velocity of the striped ball after the collision, we can set the total momentum before the collision equal to the total momentum after the collision:

m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2

Where:

  • m1 = mass of cue ball = 0.17 kg
  • u1 = initial velocity of cue ball = 3 m/s
  • m2 = mass of striped ball = 0.16 kg
  • u2 = initial velocity of striped ball = 0 m/s (stationary)
  • v1 = final velocity of cue ball = -1 m/s (opposite direction)
  • v2 = final velocity of striped ball (unknown)

Plugging the values into the momentum conservation equation and solving for v2 gives us the final velocity of the striped ball.

User Dakatine
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3 votes

Final answer:

The striped ball moves at a velocity of 3.194 m/s after the collision.

Step-by-step explanation:

First, we need to apply the conservation of momentum to solve this problem. In an elastic collision, the total momentum before and after the collision remains the same.

The momentum of the cue ball before the collision is given by:

momentum = mass x velocity

momentum = 0.17 kg x 3 m/s

momentum = 0.51 kg·m/s

Since the ball is moving in the opposite direction, the momentum after the collision is:

momentum = mass x velocity

0.51 kg·m/s = 0.17 kg x (-1 m/s)

Now, we can find the velocity of the striped ball after the collision using the conservation of momentum equation:

momentum before = momentum after

0.51 kg·m/s = (0.16 kg)(velocity)

velocity = 0.51 kg·m/s / 0.16 kg

velocity = 3.194 m/s

So, the striped ball moves at a velocity of 3.194 m/s after the collision.

User Radu Caprescu
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