Question

a lump of putty and a rubber ball have equal mass. both are thrown with equal speed against a wall. the putty sticks to the wall. the ball bounces back at nearly the same speed with which it hit the wall. which object experiences the greater momentum change?

Answer 1

The bouncy ball experiences the greater momentum change.

To understand why, you need to remember that momentum is actually
a vector quantity ... it has a size AND it has a direction too.

The putty and the ball have the same mass, and you throw them
with the same speed.  So, on the way from your hand to the wall,
they both have the same momentum.
Call it " M in the direction toward the wall ".

After they both hit the wall:

-- The putty has zero momentum.
    Its momentum changed by an amount of  M .

-- The ball has momentum of " M in the direction away from the wall ".
    Its momentum changed by an amount of  2M .

Answer 2

Rubber ball will experience the greater momentum change than the lump of putty

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Further explanation

Newton's second law of motion states that the resultant force applied to an object is directly proportional to the mass and acceleration of the object.

$\large {\boxed {F = ma }$

F = Force ( Newton )

m = Object's Mass ( kg )

a = Acceleration ( m )

Let us now tackle the problem !

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Given:

mass of a lump of putty = m

mass of rubber ball = m

initial speed of putty = v

final speed of putty = 0

initial speed of rubber ball = v

final speed of rubber ball = -v

Asked:

the change in momentum = Δp = ?

Solution:

Lump of Putty :

$\Delta p_{putty} = mv_f' - mv_i$

$\Delta p_{putty} = m(0) - mv$

$\Delta p_{putty} = - mv$

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Rubber Ball:

$\Delta p_{ball} = mv_f' - mv_i$

$\Delta p_{ball} = m(-v) - mv$

$\Delta p_{ball} = - 2mv$

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$\Delta p_{ball} : \Delta p_{putty} = - 2mv : - mv$

$\Delta p_{ball} : \Delta p_{putty} = 2 : 1$

$\Delta p_{ball} = 2\Delta p_{putty}$

$\Delta p_{ball} > \Delta p_{putty}$

From calculation above , we can conclude that rubber ball will experience the greater momentum change than the lump of putty

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Learn more

• Impacts of Gravity : brainly.com/question/5330244
• Effect of Earth’s Gravity on Objects : brainly.com/question/8844454
• The Acceleration Due To Gravity : brainly.com/question/4189441
• Newton's Law of Motion: brainly.com/question/10431582
• Example of Newton's Law: brainly.com/question/498822

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Answer details

Grade: High School

Subject: Physics

Chapter: Dynamics

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Keywords: Gravity , Unit , Magnitude , Attraction , Distance , Mass , Newton , Law , Gravitational , Constant