Question

A steel ball of mass 3 kg moving at 2.4 m/s to the left hits a stationary, 4 kg glob of clay. The ball becomes imbedded in the clay. At what speed would the combined object move away?

Answer 1

Answer:

V = 1.02 m/s

Explanation:

Given that,

The mass of a steel ball, m₁ = 3 kg

The mass of glob of clay, m₂ = 4 kg

The speed of a steel ball, u₁ = 2.4 m/s

The speed of glob, u₂ = 0 (at rest)

Let V be the combined speed of the system. Using the conservation of energy to find the combined speed.

$V=\dfrac{m_1u_1+m_2u_2}{(m_1+m_2)}\\\\V=\dfrac{3(2.4)+4(0)}{(3+4)}\\\\V=1.02\ m/s$

So, the combined speed is 1.02 m/s in left direction.