Question

a 0.199 kg snowball moving west makes an inelastic collision with a 2.89 kg box moving 0.523 m/s west. afterward,they move west at 1.92 m/s. what was the initial velocity of the snowball? PLEASE HELP MEEEEE

Answer 1

Answer:

The initial velocity of the snowball was 22.21 m/s

Explanation:

Since the collision is inelastic, only momentum is conserved. And since the snowball and the box move together after the collision, they have the same final velocity.

Let $m_1$ be the mass of the ball, and $v_1$ be its initial velocity; let $m_2$ be the mass of the box, and $v_2$ be its velocity; let $v_f$ be the final velocity after the collision, then according to the law of conservation of momentum:

$m_1v_1+m_2v_2=v_f(m_1+m_2)$.

From this we solve for $v_1$, the initial velocity of the snowball:

$\boxed{v_1=\frac{v_f(m_1+m_2)-m_2v_2}{m_1}}$

now we plug in the numerical values $m_1=0.199\:kg$, $m_2=2.89\:kg$, $v_2=0.523\:m/s$, and $v_f=1.92\:m/s$ to get:

$v_1=\frac{1.92*(0.199+2.89)-2.89*0.523}{0.199}$

$\boxed{v_1=22.21\:m/s}$

The initial velocity of the snowball is 22.21 m/s.

P.S: we did not take vectors into account because everything is moving in one direction—towards the west.