The drawing shows a collision between two pucks on an air-hockey table. Puck A h
ID: 1965207 • Letter: T
Question
The drawing shows a collision between two pucks on an air-hockey table. Puck A has a mass of 0.038 kg and is moving along the x axis with a velocity of +5.5 m/s. It makes a collision with puck B, which has a mass of 0.068 kg and is initially at rest. The collision is not head-on. After the collision, the two pucks fly apart with the angles shown in the drawing.Here is a link to the same question with the figure:
http://www.cramster.com/answers-nov-06/physics/collision-air-hockey-pucks-drawing-shows-collision-pucks-anair-hoc_29029.aspx
IMPORTANT NOTE: I have looked at every one of these similiar problems on chegg and haven't been able to reduplicate solving the answer. I realize that you have two unknowns and you have to solve for one and plug in but I haven't been able to get the right answer. I suspect that I am doing the algebra wrong. Can someone please give step-by-step guide to solving this? Algebra included? Solving for the correct numerical is also a must.
Thanks. I know it's a lot for one question but I am thoroughly confused!
Explanation / Answer
The collision is two dimensional collision. The momentum is conserved along the horizontal and also perpendicular to the direction of collision. along the direction of collision m1 u1 + 0 = m1 V1 cos 65 + m2 V2 cos 37 ......(1) (0.038)(5.5) = (0.038) V1 cos 65 + (0.068) V2 cos 37......(2) momentum perpendicular to the direction of impact is 0 + 0 = m1 V1 sin 65 - m2 V2 sin 37 .......(3) m1 V1 sin 65 = m2 V2 sin 37 V1 / V2 = m2 sin 37 / m1 sin 65 = (0.068) sin 37 / (0.038) sin 65 = 1.1883 V1 = 1.1883 V2 .......(4) Substituting equation (4) in (2) (0.038)(5.5) = (0.038) (1.1883) V2 cos 65 + (0.068) V2 cos 37 (0.038)(5.5) = 0.07339 V2 Solving for V2 (speed of the blue puck ) V2 =2.8478m/s Now substituting this value in eq (4) for speed of the red puck V1 = (1.1883)(2.8478) = 3.384m/sRelated Questions
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