Question

a block of mass m slides along a frictionless track with speed vm. It collides with a stationary block of mass M. Find an expression for the minimum value of vm that will allow the second block to circle the loop-the-loop without falling off if the collision is (a) perfectly inelastic or (b) perfectly elastic.

Answer 1

Answer:

Part a) When collision is perfectly inelastic

$v_m = \frac{m + M}{m} \sqrt{5Rg}$

Part b) When collision is perfectly elastic

$v_m = \frac{m + M}{2m}\sqrt{5Rg}$

Explanation:

Part a)

As we know that collision is perfectly inelastic

so here we will have

$mv_m = (m + M)v$

so we have

$v = \frac{mv_m}{m + M}$

now we know that in order to complete the circle we will have

$v = \sqrt{5Rg}$

$\frac{mv_m}{m + M} = \sqrt{5Rg}$

now we have

$v_m = \frac{m + M}{m} \sqrt{5Rg}$

Part b)

Now we know that collision is perfectly elastic

so we will have

$v = \frac{2mv_m}{m + M}$

now we have

$\sqrt{5Rg} = \frac{2mv_m}{m + M}$

$v_m = \frac{m + M}{2m}\sqrt{5Rg}$