Our favorite high school student has another question. This time it\'s about the

Question

Our favorite high school student has another question. This time it's about the second problem on this homework assignment (the one about the block getting hit by a bullet and then falling off a table). The student wants to know why you can't apply conservation of momentum (setting the initial momentum of the bullet and block equal to the final momentum of the bullet and block) for the part where the bullet-and-block are in free-fall. Your job in this essay is to explain why conservation of momentum does not apply for this free-fall.

Explanation / Answer

Conservation of momentum law:

If the net force applied on the object is zero then only the total momentum of the system is conserved.

When Bullet and block are in free fall, the weight of bullet and block is downward direction. The net force on the bullet and block system is not zero and it is equal to weight of bullet and block. So we cannot apply conservation of momentum law.

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