A trap-jaw ant snaps its mandibles shut at very high speed, good for catching small prey. But these ants also slam their mandibles into the ground; the resulting force can launch the ant into the air for a quick escape. If a 12 mg ant hits the ground with an average force of 47 mN for a time of 0.13 ms, at what speed will it leave the ground?

Question

Jamie Webster

Physics

11 July, 11:24

A trap-jaw ant snaps its mandibles shut at very high speed, good for catching small prey. But these ants also slam their mandibles into the ground; the resulting force can launch the ant into the air for a quick escape. If a 12 mg ant hits the ground with an average force of 47 mN for a time of 0.13 ms, at what speed will it leave the ground?

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Answers (1)

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Precious Moses · Answer 1

FInal speed (v) = 0.509 m/s (Approx)

Explanation:

Given:

Mass of ant (m) = 12 mg

Force (f) = 47 N

Time taken (t) = 0.13 ms

Find:

FInal speed (v) = ?

Computation:

Initial velocity (u) = 0

Impulse = change in momentum

Force * TIme = change in momentum

47 * 0.13 = mv - mu

6.11 = 12 (V)

FInal speed (v) = 0.509 m/s (Approx)