To protect their young in the nest, peregrine falcons will fly into birds of pre

Question

To protect their young in the nest, peregrine falcons will fly into birds of prey (such as ravens) at high speed. In one such episode, a 625 gram falcon flying at 20.5{ m m}/{ m s} ran into a 1.40{ m kg} raven flying at 9.40{ m m}/{ m s} . The falcon hit the raven at right angles to its original path and bounced back with a speed of 4.20{ m m}/{ m s} . (These figures were estimated by one of the authors (WRA) as he watched this attack occur in northern New Mexico.)By what angle did the falcon change the raven's direction of motion?

Explanation / Answer

______12__.___3_
:::::
/::::::
13.5:::/:::::
R/:::: r = ?
:/:::
/::
:/:
/

13.5 up and 12 to the right, give R, which is the resultant total momentum of the system, prior to the collision. It must also be the resultant total momentum of the system, following the collision. That is the vector sum of 'r', and 3 to the left.

To calculate magnitude,
r² = 13.5² + 15²

And for the angle,
tan (theta) = 15 / 13.5

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