Question

Describe the total momentum of billiard balls before and after the cue ball collides with another ball.

Answer 1

Total momentum is conserved before and after collusion and it's elastic.

Step-by-step explanation:

For two colliding balls, the general vector equation for conservation of linear momentum is giving as

Ma*V1a = Ma*V2a + Mb*V2b

Where Ma=mass of que ball = Mb = mass of billiard ball so therefore

V1a= velocity of que ball before impact, V2a = velocity of que ball after impact, V2b = velocity of billiard ball after impact.

So therefore:

V1a = V2a + V2b

Answer 2

The Total Momentum before and after collision remains the same.

Step-by-step explanation:

Note that the balls have the same masses.

A moving cue ball has an initial momentum. After every collision with another stationary ball, the momentum, which is the product of their mass and velocity, of the balls is conserved. This simply means that the total momentum before the collision is the same as the total momentum after the collision.

This also means that the energy must be conserved as well. The balls cannot fling away from each other with more energy than you give them.