Question

A velcro ball is thrown at a stationary target and sticks. If the ball has a mass of
1kg and the target has a mass of 5kg, and the final velocity of the combined mass
is 2 m/s, how fast was the ball thrown? *

Answer 1

Answer:

12m/s

Explanation:

Given parameters:

M1  = 1kg

M2  = 5kg

V = 2m/s

Unknown:

Speed of the ball thrown = ?

Solution:

In a system, the momentum must be conserved. Since we are dealing with an elastic collision:

          M1 V1  +  M2 V2  = v(M1 + M2)

So;

        1 x V1 + (5 x 0) = 2(1 + 5)

              V1  = 12m/s