Question

a 0.199 kg snowball moving west makes an inelastic collision with a 2.89 kg box moving 0.523 m/s west. after ward, they move west at 1.92 m/s. what was the initial velocity of the snowball

Answer 1

V=22.21 m/s

Answer 2

In an inelastic collision, the momentum is conserved, but the kinetic energy is not conserved. We can use the principle of conservation of momentum to solve this problem.

The momentum before the collision is equal to the momentum after the collision:

Momentum before = Momentum after

The momentum of an object is given by the product of its mass and velocity:

Momentum = mass × velocity

Let's represent the initial velocity of the snowball as 'v_s', and the velocity of the box before the collision as 'v_b'. The final velocity of both objects after the collision is 1.92 m/s (west).

The momentum before the collision:

Momentum before = (mass of snowball × initial velocity of snowball) + (mass of box × initial velocity of box)

Momentum before = (0.199 kg × v_s) + (2.89 kg × 0.523 m/s)

The momentum after the collision:

Momentum after = (mass of snowball + mass of box) × final velocity after collision

Momentum after = (0.199 kg + 2.89 kg) × 1.92 m/s

Now, we can set up the equation with the conservation of momentum:

(0.199 kg × v_s) + (2.89 kg × 0.523 m/s) = (0.199 kg + 2.89 kg) × 1.92 m/s

Let's solve for 'v_s':

(0.199 kg × v_s) = (3.089 kg) × 1.92 m/s - (2.89 kg × 0.523 m/s)

v_s = (5.92248 kg m/s - 1.51147 kg m/s) / 0.199 kg

v_s = 4.41101 kg m/s / 0.199 kg

v_s ≈ 22.15 m/s (west)

So, the initial velocity of the snowball was approximately 22.15 m/s, moving west.