Question

A single billiard ball, traveling at 20 m/s, strikes a cluster of 15 balls on a billiard table. What can be said aboutthe balls on the table after the collision? A. Each ball will have a velocity equal to 20 m/s.B. The kinetic energy of the 15 balls will be greater than the kingtic energy of one ball.C. None of the balls will have a velocity greater than 20 m/s.D. The kinetic energy will be divided equally among the 15 balls.

Answer 1

C. None of the balls will have a velocity greater than 20 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

By the conservation of momentum, the mass of the single billiard ball times its speed will be equal to momentum of the system after the collision. This final momentum is equal to the sum of the mass of the 16 balls and the speed of each of them. Since there area more balls involve after the collision, its speed will be lower of 20 m/s.

Therefore, the answer is

C. None of the balls will have a velocity greater than 20 m/s