A friend throws a heavy ball toward you while you are standing on smooth ice. You can either catch the ball or deflect it back t
oward your friend. Which of the following options will maximize your speed right after your interaction with the ball? You should catch the ball. You should deflect the ball back toward your friend at the same speed with which it hit your hand. You should let the ball go past you without touching it. It doesn’t matter—your speed is the same regardless of what you do. You should deflect the ball back toward your friend at half the speed with which it hit your hand.
My speed after the interaction will depend upon the impulse the ball will make on me . Now impulse can be expressed as follows
Impulse = change in momentum
change in momentum in the ball will be maximum when the ball bounces back with the same velocity which can be shown as follows
change in momentum = mv - ( - mv ) = 2mv
So when ball is bounced back with same velocity , it suffers greatest impulse from my hand . In return , it reacts with the same impulse on my hand pushing me with greatest impulse according to third law of motion. this maximizes my speed after the interaction.
