A bullet of mass mb is fired horizontally with speed upsilon i at a wooden block

Question

A bullet of mass mb is fired horizontally with speed upsilon i 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 upsilon f. (Figure 1) Which of the following quantities, if any, are conserved during this collision? kinetic energy only momentum only kinetic energy and momentum neither momentum nor kinetic energy What is the speed of the block/bullet system after the collision? Express your answer in terms of upsilon i, mw, and mb.

Explanation / Answer

a) It is a perfectly inelastic collision b) Momentum is conserved during the collision c) When the bullet strikes the block, using conservationof momentum we have
mbvi= ( mb+ mw)vf
vf=mbvi/(mb+ mw)

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