Which has a greater momentum: a heavy truck at rest or a moving skateboard?
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Textbook Solutions for Conceptual Physics
Question
Conservation of momentum: \(mv_{\mathrm{before}} = mv_{\mathrm{after}}\)
A 2-kg blob of putty moving at 3 m/s slams into a 2-kg blob of putty at rest. Show how the speed of the two stuck-together blobs of putty immediately after colliding is 1.5 m/s.
Solution
Step 1 of 3
The mass of the moving putty is \(m_1 = 2\text{ kg}\) and its velocity before the collision is \( v_1 = 3\text{ m/s}\). The mass of the stationary putty is \(m_2 = 2\text{ kg}\), and its velocity before the collision is \(v_2 = 0\text{ m/s}\). Because the blobs stick together, this is a perfectly inelastic collision; momentum is conserved, but kinetic energy is not. The combined blob moves with a speed that’s halfway between \(3 \text{ m/s}\) and \(0 \text{ m/s}\) because both blobs have equal mass. After the collision, the two blobs stick together, so their final velocity is the same.
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