Question

Because a raindrop is "soft" and deformable, the collision duration is a relatively long 8.0 ms. How many times larger than gravity is the mosquito's average acceleration during the collision?

This is the information I have so far:

A hovering mosquito is hit by a raindrop that is 45 times as massive and falling at 8.4 m/s , a typical raindrop speed. How fast is the raindrop, with the attached mosquito, falling immediately afterward if the collision is completely inelastic? V=8.22 m/s

Answer 1

Solution: From the conservation of momentum, mx0+45m(8.4)-m+45m)v 378m 46m× v 378 46v 378 46 -8.22 ms Hence, the speed of the raindrop attached to the mosquito is 8.22 m/s From the Newton s second law of motion dv dt 8.22 8.0x10 -1.028 x10 m F mg Comparing the two forces, Force due to gravity is, mg 1.028 x10 m g-1.028 x103 1.028 x10 9.8 T8 -105g Hence, the gravity of the mosquito is 105 times larger than the average acceleration