Calculating Final Velocities in a 2-Dimensional Elastic Collision

AI Thread Summary
To find the final velocities of pucks A and B after their elastic collision, the conservation of momentum and kinetic energy equations must be applied. The initial momentum of puck A is 1.3136 kg·m/s, while puck B starts at rest. The angles of separation post-collision are 65 degrees for puck A and 37 degrees for puck B, necessitating the breakdown of momentum into x and y components for accurate calculations. The discussion emphasizes the importance of setting up equations for both momentum directions to solve for the final velocities. Overall, a thorough understanding of the collision dynamics and component analysis is essential for solving this problem.
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Homework Statement


Puck A has a mass of 0.236 kg and is moving along the x-axis with a velocity of 5.56 m/s. It makes a collision with puck B, which has a mass of 0.472 kg and is initially at rest. The collision is not head-on. After the collision, the two pucks fly apart with the angles shown in the drawing. Find the final speed of puck A and puck B.
After the collision puck A has an angle of 65 degrees (in quadrant 2) and puck B has an angle of 37 degrees (in quadrant 3).


Homework Equations


m1vi1 + m2vi2 = m1vf1 + m2vf2
1/2m1vi1^2 + 1/2m2vi2^2 = 1/2m1vf1^2 + 1/2m2vf2^2
A * B = ABcos(theta)

The Attempt at a Solution


I'm trying to solve for two final velocities, and I know the initial velocity of puck B is 0. After that, I don't really know where to go with the equations that I have.
 
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I have no idea what you've tried, but you need to break up the initial and final momentum into x and y components. Then you need to sum them up in each direction to get equations for what you need.
 
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