In midair in the international space station a 1 kg chunk of putty moving at 1 m/s collides with and sticks to a 5 kg chunk of putty initially at rest. at what speed does the 6 kg chunk travel after the collision?

Question

Matthew Soto

Physics

4 February, 07:14

In midair in the international space station a 1 kg chunk of putty moving at 1 m/s collides with and sticks to a 5 kg chunk of putty initially at rest. at what speed does the 6 kg chunk travel after the collision?

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Answers (1)

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Tommy Harrington · Answer 1

We know that the momentum keeps constant in a inelastic collisions, so the product of mass and speed do not change:

m1 * v1 + m2 * v2 = m * v

1 * 1 + 5 * 0 = (1 + 5) * v

1 = 6 * v

v = 1/6 m/s

So the final speed of the 6 kg chunk will travel at 0.167 m/s