Question

Someone fires a 0.04 kg bullet at a block of wood that has a mass of 0.5 kg. (The block of wood is sitting on a frictionless surface, so it moves freely when the bullet hits it). The wood block is initially at rest. The bullet is traveling 300 m/s when it hits the wood block and sticks inside it. Now the bullet and the wood block move together as one object. How fast are they traveling?

Answer 1

22.22m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

The momentum before a collision = momentum after collision so...

work out the momentum of the first object (the bullet)

its p = mv

0.04 kg × 300 m/s = 0.54 kg × v

rearrange this to find v which is 0.04 x 300 = 12

so 12 = 0.54 x v

12/0.5 = v

v = 22.22m/s

hope this helps!