Really tough question...

A firecracker stuck into a 150 g apple explodes and sends five apple fragments in different directions. The vector sum of momenta 1, 2, 3, and 4 is found from a video of the event to have components px = 1.20 kgm/s, py = 0.80 kgm/s (with no other component). The mass of the fifth fragment is 0.050 kg. What is its velocity right after the explosion?

Question

Really tough question...

A firecracker stuck into a 150 g apple explodes and sends five apple fragments in different directions. The vector sum of momenta 1, 2, 3, and 4 is found from a video of the event to have components px = 1.20 kgm/s, py = 0.80 kgm/s (with no other component). The mass of the fifth fragment is 0.050 kg. What is its velocity right after the explosion?

anonymous · Answer

I will appreciate any help I can get!

anonymous · Answer

If the apple was stationary when exploded, and I think it was,
then the sum of the momentums will be zero. So make the last piece have a momentum equal to the negative of the sum of the other four's. [Yes,
"momenta" is the conventional plural.]