Question

Astronaut Bill's mass is 77 kg. He is floating through the space station at a steady rate of 2.6 m/s. His friend John appears directly in front of Bill and throws a pillow at him at 25 m/s. The pillow weighs 6.9 kg. Bill catches the pillow and holds on to it. How fast is Bill moving after he catches the pillow?

Answer 1

The final velocity of Bill after he catches the pillow is 4.44 m/s.

The given parameters:

• Mass of Bill, m1 = 77 kg
• Velocity of Bill, u1 = 2.6 m/s
• Mass of the pillow, m2 = 6.9 kg
• Initial velocity of the pillow, u2 = 25 m/s

What is conservation of linear momentum?

• The principle of conservation of linear momentum states that the total momentum of an isolated system is constant.

The final velocity of Bill is determined by applying the principle of conservation of linear momentum as follows;

$m_1 u_1 + m_2 u_2 = v(m_1 + m_2)\\\\77(2.6) + 6.9(25) = v(77 + 6.9)\\\\372.7 = 83.9v\\\\v = \frac{372.7}{83.9} \\\\v = 4.44 \ m/s$

Thus, the final velocity of Bill after he catches the pillow is 4.44 m/s.

Learn more about conservation of linear momentum here: brainly.com/question/7538238