- #1
AbigailM
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Homework Statement
A bullet with mass and speed v hits a wooden block of mass M that is situated at rest on a frictionless surface. It penetrates the block and gets trapped inside it as a result of a constant retardation force [itex]F_{ret}[/itex] that opposes relative motion between the two objects. Find the common speed of the bullet and the block V, and the penetration length l in terms of m, M, v, and [itex]F_{ret}[/itex].
Homework Equations
mv=(m+M)V (Eq 1)
[itex]\frac{1}{2}mv^{2}=F_{ret}l+\frac{1}{2}(m+M)V^{2}[/itex] (Eq 2)
The Attempt at a Solution
The common speed of m and M is [itex]V=\frac{mv}{m+M}[/itex] (Eq 3) via conservation of momentum.
[itex]\frac{1}{2}mv^{2}=F_{ret}l+\frac{1}{2}\frac{m^{2}v^{2}}{(m+M)}[/itex] (where I substituted Eq 3 into Eq 2)
Let's rearrange:
[itex]F_{ret}l=\frac{1}{2}m\left( 1-\frac{m}{m+M}\right) v^{2}[/itex]
No let's solve for the penetration depth l:
[itex]l=\frac{m\left(1-\frac{m}{m+M}\right) v^{2}}{2F_{ret}}[/itex]
Not sure if it is correct. Thanks for the help!