Question

A 1.25 kg falcon catches a 0.275 kg dove from behind in midair. What is the primarily involved principle?

a) Conservation of mass
b) Conservation of energy
c) Conservation of momentum
d) Conservation of angular momentum

Answer 1

The primarily involved principle in this scenario is Conservation of momentum. According to the principle of conservation of momentum, the total momentum of a system remains constant before and after a collision, provided there are no external forces acting on the system.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primarily involved principle in this scenario is Conservation of momentum (c). According to the principle of conservation of momentum, the total momentum of a system remains constant before and after a collision, provided there are no external forces acting on the system.

In this case, the falcon and the dove are initially moving with their respective velocities, but after the falcon catches the dove, their combined mass moves with a final velocity determined by the conservation of momentum.

Using the conservation of momentum equation, we can calculate the final velocity of the combined mass:

Final velocity = (m1v1 + m2v2) / (m1 + m2)

By plugging in the respective masses and velocities, the final velocity of the combined mass is found to be 4.286 m/s.