Question

In a Broadway performance, an 80.5-kg actor swings from a R = 3.70-m-long cable that is horizontal when he starts. At the bottom of his arc, he picks up his 55.0-kg costar in an inelastic collision. What is the question being asked in the given context?

Answer 1

In the scenario, an actor swinging on a cable picks up a costar at the bottom of the arc, depicting an inelastic collision. The principles of conservation of energy and momentum can be used to analyze this situation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The given context is describing a physical scenario, particularly an inelastic collision of two bodies where one body is initially static. Here, an 80.5-kg actor swings from a 3.7 m long horizontal cable and at the bottom of the swing, he picks up a 55.0-kg costar.

This scenario can be solved by using the principle of conservation of energy and momentum. Initially, the only kinetic energy is that of the 80.5-kg actor and the total momentum is just the momentum of the actor. After he picks up the costar, the total weight becomes 135.5 kg (sum of the actor & costar's weights) and they move together as one body. Their new kinetic energy and momentum can be calculated by using their combined mass and final velocity. The final velocity can be inferred from the principle of conservation of momentum.

Without a specific prompt, it's hard to determine the main answer, but the scenario helps us explore real-life applications of principles of inelastic collisions.

Learn more about Inelastic Collision