A bullet whose mass is 30.2 g leaves a rifle with a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s. It strikes a block of wood (mass 5 kg), initially at rest, and remains embedded in it. After the bullet hits the block, what will be the velocity of the bullet-block system?

a. 30.2

b. 1.51

c. 33.1

d. 165

e. 6

f. 7.6

g. 6,000

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Physics

1 January, 00:10

A bullet whose mass is 30.2 g leaves a rifle with a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s. It strikes a block of wood (mass 5 kg), initially at rest, and remains embedded in it. After the bullet hits the block, what will be the velocity of the bullet-block system?

a. 30.2

b. 1.51

c. 33.1

d. 165

e. 6

f. 7.6

g. 6,000

+5

Answers (1)

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Johanna Martin · Answer 1

This problem here is an example of inelastic collision where kinetic energy is not conserved but momentum is. We calculate as follows:

m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1 + m2) v3

v3 = m1v1 + m2v2 / m1 + m2

v3 = (30.2) (1000) + (5000) (0) / (30.2 + 5000)

v3 = 6.00 m/s