Solved: When an object breaks into two pieces (explosion, | StudySoup

Textbook Solutions for Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics

Chapter 8 Problem 22DQ

Question

Problem 22DQ

When an object breaks into two pieces (explosion, radio-active decay, recoil, etc.), the lighter fragment gets more kinetic energy than the heavier one. This is a consequence of momentum conservation, but can you also explain it by using Newton’s laws of motion?

Solution

Solution to 22DQ

Step 1

Consider an object of M broken into two pieces of masses m1 and m2 respectively moving in opposite directions with a velocity v and V respectively.

Now according to Newton’s third law of motion,

F1=-F2=F , since there is no external force acting on the system.

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full solution

Title Sears and Zemansky's University Physics with Modern Physics 13 
Author Hugh D. Young; Roger A. Freedman; A. Lewis Ford
ISBN 9780321696861

Solved: When an object breaks into two pieces (explosion,

Chapter 8 textbook questions

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