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A bullet of mass mb is fired horizontally with speed Vi at a wooden block of mas

ID: 1693722 • Letter: A

Question

A bullet of mass mb is fired horizontally with speed Vi at a wooden block of mass mw resting on a frictionless table. The bullet hits the block and becomes completely embedded within it. After the bullet has come to rest within the block, the block, with the bullet in it, is traveling at speed Vf. What is the speed of the block/bullet system after the collision? A bullet of mass mb is fired horizontally with speed Vi at a wooden block of mass mw resting on a frictionless table. The bullet hits the block and becomes completely embedded within it. After the bullet has come to rest within the block, the block, with the bullet in it, is traveling at speed Vf. What is the speed of the block/bullet system after the collision?

Explanation / Answer

According to law of conservation of momentum m_b vi = (m_b + m_w)Vf Here Vf is final velocity of combined system Vf = m_b* vi /(m_b + m_w)