- #1
MostlyHarmless
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Homework Statement
A 4.0kg mess kit, ##m_1## sliding on a frictionless surface explodes in two 2.0kg parts, ##m_2## and ##m_3##: ##m_2##@3.0m/s due north and##m_3##@ 5.0m/s, 30 degrees north of east. What is the original speed of the mess kit?
Homework Equations
Momentum=mv
The Attempt at a Solution
After thinking about it for a bit, I thought that I could think about the problem in reverse, i.e. the two 2kg masses colliding in sticking. I broke the momentum of ##m_3## into x and y components and got ##P_{3x}=8.66N*s## and ##P_{3y}=5N*s## ##m_2## has only a y component of 6N*s. So the total momentum in x, after the collision, would be 8.66N*s, and in y would be 11N*s. Using these two values I found the magnitude of the momentum of the resulting mass,##m_1##, to be 13.99N*s, divided by its mass, 4kg, and found its velocity to be 3.5 m/s.
And to verify that this seemed right, it would have been moving at 51 degrees below the negative x axis.
It all seems within reason, but I'm not sure.
This was an even numbered problem and again I'm unsure if what I'm doing is right. Does this look right? If not, could someone steer me in the right direction.