Billiard Balls Collision: Final Direction & Speed of Equal Mass Balls

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the elastic collision of two equal mass billiard balls, where Ball A moves upwards at 2.0 m/s along the y-axis and Ball B moves right at 3.7 m/s along the x-axis. Post-collision, Ball B travels along the positive y-axis. The final direction of Ball A is determined to be at an angle, and both balls maintain kinetic energy throughout the collision. The final speeds of the balls can be calculated using conservation of momentum and kinetic energy principles.

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The question is:
- Two billiard balls of equal mass move at right angles and meet at the origin of an xy coordinate system. Ball A is moving upwards along the y-axis at 2.0 m/s, and ball B is moving to the right along the x-axis with speed 3.7m/s. After the collision, assume elastic, ball B is moving along the positive y axis. What is the final direction of ball A and what are their two speeds?
 
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Kinetic energy maintained

The collision is elastic, and that means that the kinetic energy is maintained - just use that fact to find the answer
 

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