Question

During a circus act, a performer thrills the crowd by catching a cannon ball shot at him. The cannon ball has a mass of 7.5 kg and the horizontal component of its velocity is 8.85 m/s when the 73.5-kg performer catches it.

Answer 1

Answer:

The recoil velocity is 0.819 m/s.

Explanation:

Given that,

Mass of ball m= 7.5 kg

Velocity v= 8.85 m/s

Mass of performer m'= 73.5 kg

Suppose if the performer is on nearly friction less roller skates, we need to calculate his recoil velocity

We need to calculate the recoil velocity

Using law of conservation momentum

$mv=(m+m')v'$

Where, m = mass of ball

m' = mass of performer

v = velocity of ball

Put the value into the formula

$v'=\dfrac{mv}{m+m'}$

Put the value into the formula

$v'=\dfrac{7.5\times8.85}{7.5+73.5}$

$v'=0.819\ m/s$

Hence, The recoil velocity is 0.819 m/s.