Question

A 59 kg physics student is riding her 220 kg Harley at 12 m/s when she has a head-on collision with a 2.1 kg pigeon flying the opposite direction at 44m/s. The bird is still on the motorcycle after the collision. How fast is the motorcycle going after the collision?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Using conservation of momentum

$m_1=59+220=279kg$

$m_2=2.1kg$

$U_1=12m/s$

$U_2=-44m/s$

$m_1U_1+m_2U_2=(m_1+m_2)V\\\\\frac{278\times 12-2.1\times 44}{279+2.1}=V\\\\V=11.58m/s$