Question

A 0.400 ice puck, moving east with a speed of 5.52 , has a head-on collision with a 0.950puck initially at rest.

Assuming a perfectly elastic collision, what will be the speed of the 0.400 object after the collision?

What will be the speed of the 0.950 object after the collision?

Please provide a detailed solution, Im am confused

Answer 1

so in physics, everytime the word, "collision" is in the problem, use 'conservation of momentum' formula. does that help, or should I help more? ^_^

Answer 2

I know i need to get it to the quadratic but I am struggling how to get there

Answer 3

mm... i'm not too sure of needing to get it into a quadratic, but I can show you how to set it up
mv + mv = mv + mv
so the left side of the = is the 'before collision'
and the right sid of the = is the 'after collision'
so, we now have
0.4(5.52) + 0.95(0) = mv + mv
0.4(5.52) + 0.95(0) = 0.4(v) + 0.95(v)
making sense now?

Answer 4

i'm logging off, i'll give you one more step:
0.4(5.52) + 0.95(0) = 0.4(v) + 0.95(v)
becomes
0.4(5.52) + 0.95(0) = v(0.4 + 0.95)
solve for v ^_^

Answer 5

oh thats where I went wrong thanks for your help