An experiment is performed aboard the International Space Station to verify that

Question

An experiment is performed aboard the International Space Station to verify that linear momentum is conserved during collisions in a zero-g environment. The experiment involves a 3-D completely inelastic collision of three drops of honey. At the moment just before they all collide, the masses and velocities of the drops are m1=32.3g, m2=48.7g, m3=78.1g and v1=12.7 m/s (x), v2=12.5 m/s (y), and v3=16.7m/s (z)

What is your prediction for the speed, V, of the combined honey drop after the collision?

Explanation / Answer

m1 =32.3 g V1 = (12.7 m/s)x
m2 = 48.7 g V2 = (12.5 m/s)y
m3 = 78.1 g V3 = (16.7 m/s)z
Total mass is, m1+ m2+ m3 = 32.35+ 48.7+ 78.1 = 159.1

momentum conservation in x-direction:
X - direction
m1 x V1 = (m1+ m2+ m3) Vx
Vx = (32.3 x 12.7)/159.1
Vx = 2.578 m/s

momentum conservation inY - direction
m2 x V2 = (m1+ m2+ m3) Vy
Vy = ( 48.7 x 12.5 )/159.1
Vy = 3.826 m/s

momentum conservation in Z - direction
Vz =( 78.1 x 16.7 )/159.1
Vz = 8.197 m/s

Thus, the velocity is,

V = [2.578 i^ +3.826 j^+8.197 k^] m/s
Magnitude of the velocity is,

V = sqrt[ 2.578^2 +3.826^2 + 8.197^2] = 9.40 m/s

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