Chapter 8 Systems of Particles and Conservation of Momentum

(b) Use Equ. 8-30a vpf = [(-11/13)300] m/s = -254 m/s

67 ·· A 3-kg block moving at 4 m/s makes an elastic collision with a stationary block of mass 2 kg. Use conservation of
momentum and the fact that the relative velocity of recession equals the relative velocity of approach to find the
velocity of each block after the collision. Check your answer by calculating the initial and final kinetic energies of each
block.
Equs. 8-30a and 8-30b are a direct consequence of momentum conservation and Equ. 8-29. (see Example 8-17)
1. Use Equs. 8-30a and 8-30b v3f = (1 × 4/5) m/s = 0.8 m/s; v2f = (6 × 4/5) m/s
= 4.8 m/s
2. Evaluate Ki and Kf Ki = 1.5 × 16 J = 24 J; Kf = (1.5 × 0.82+1 × 4.82) J = 24 J

68 ·· Night after night, Lucy is tormented by nocturnal wailing from the house next door. One day she seizes a revolver,
stalks to the neighbor’s window with a crazed look in her eye, takes aim, and fires a 10-g bullet into her target: a 1.2 kg
saxophone that rests on a frictionless surface. The bullet passes right through and emerges on the other side with a
speed of 100 m/s, and the saxophone is given a speed of 4 m/s. Find the initial speed of the bullet, and the amount of
energy dissipated in its trip through the saxophone.
1. Use p i = p f (0.01vi) kg.m/s = (0.01 × 100 + 1.2 × 4) kg.m/s;
vi = 580 m/s
2. Find ∆K = Ki - Kf 2 2 2
∆K = [0.005 × 580 - 0.6 × 4 - 0.005 × 100 ] J
= 1622 J

69* ·· A block of mass m1 = 2 kg slides along a frictionless table with a speed of 10 m/s. Directly in front of it, and
moving in the same direction with a speed of 3 m/s, is a block of mass m2 = 5 kg. A massless spring with spring
constant k = 1120 N/m is attached to the second block as in Figure 8-54. (a) Before m1 runs into the spring, what is
the velocity of the center of mass of the system? (b) After the collision, the spring is compressed by a maximum
amount ∆x. What is the value of ∆x? (c) The blocks will eventually separate again. What are the final velocities of the
two blocks measured in the reference frame of the table?
(a) Use Equ. 8-13 vcm = (2 × 10 + 5 × 3)/7 m/s = 5 m/s
(b) 1. At max. compression, u 1 = u 2 = 0; K = Kcm Kcm = 1/2 × 7 × 52 J = 87.5 J
2. Use conservation of energy: 1/2k ∆x2 = Ki - Kcm Ki = (100 + 22.5) J = 122.5 J; 1/2k ∆x2 = 35 J
3. Solve for and evaluate ∆x ∆x = (2 × 35/1120) 1/2 m = 0.25 m = 25 cm
(c) 1. Collision is elastic; find u 1i and u 2i; u 1f and u 2f u 1i = 5 m/s, u 2i = -2 m/s; u 1f = -5 m/s, u 2f = 2 m/s
2. Transform to reference frame of table v1f = 0 m/s, v2f = 7 m/s

70 ·· A bullet of mass m is fired vertically from below into a block of wood of mass M that is initially at rest, supported
by a thin sheet of paper. The bullet blasts through the block, which rises to a height H above its initial position before
falling back down. The bullet continues rising to a height h. (a) Express the upward velocity of the bullet and the block
immediately after the bullet exits the block in terms of h and H. (b) Use conservation of momentum to express the
speed of the bullet before it enters the block of wood in terms of given parameters. (c) Obtain expressions for the
mechanical energies of the system before and after the inelastic collision. (d) Express the energy dissipated in the