Question

a 95.00 kg man on ice skates catches a moving ball at 18 m/s. the man is initially at rest. the man and ball move together after the collision. the ball's mass is 0.14 kg. what is the final velocity?

Answer 1

We can use conservation of momentum of the ball-man system.

mv + mv = mv

the total momentum of the two objects before the collision is the same as the total momentum of the two objects after the collision

(95)(0) + (0.14)(18) = (95 + 0.14)Vfinal

0 + 2.52 = 95.14Vf

divide by 95.14 on both sides

Final velocity = 0.0265m/s in the direction the ball was initially travelling