Answer:
Part a)

Part b)

Explanation:
Since the ball and rod is an isolated system and there is no external force on it so by momentum conservation we will have

here we also use angular momentum conservation
so we have

also we know that the collision is elastic collision so we have

so we have

also we know

also we know

so we have


now we have


Part b)
Now we know that speed of the ball after collision is given as

so it is given as

Answer:
The Total Mechanical Energy
As already mentioned, the mechanical energy of an object can be the result of its motion (i.e., kinetic energy) and/or the result of its stored energy of position (i.e., potential energy). The total amount of mechanical energy is merely the sum of the potential energy and the kinetic energy.
Explanation:
The tangent looks good.
The curve is a bit crooked, at the 0.9 and 1.
But overall, cool graph.