Question

A bowling ball hits two standing bowling pins at the same time. Which of the following is true? Assume that all collisions are elastic. A. The sum of the momentum of both pins after the collision will equal the momentum of the ball before the collision. B. The momentum of the ball after the collision will equal the momentum of the ball before the collision. C. The sum of the momentum gained by both pins will equal the amount of momentum lost by the ball. D. The momentum of each pin after the collision will equal the momentum of the ball before the collision.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. The sum of the momentum gained by both pins will equal the amount of momentum lost by the ball.

Explanation:

The law of conservation of momentum states that total momentum before collision must be equal to the total momentum after collision.

Momentum could be transferred from one object to another during collision. When the ball hits the stationary pins, momentum is transferred from the ball to the pins.

Since the collision is elastic, momentum is conserved hence total momentum gained by the pins equals the total momentum lost by the ball.