Elastic Collision between 2 Particles

AI Thread Summary
To find the angle between the directions of two particles after an elastic collision, conservation of momentum must be applied in both the x and y directions. The first particle, with mass m1, scatters at 30 degrees with a speed of v0/3 after colliding with the stationary particle of mass m2. The second particle's speed is determined to be 2/3v0 based on energy conservation principles. The next step involves calculating the angle using trigonometric relationships derived from the momentum equations. The discussion emphasizes the importance of both conservation laws to solve for the angle accurately.
Kyliticus
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Hi, here's my problem.

A particle of m1 and initial speed v0 strikes a stationary particle of mass m2, and scatters at 30 degrees to its original direction with speed v0/3. Find the angle, in degrees, between the directions of the two particles after the collision.

I found that the velocity of the m2 after the collision to be 2/3v0 due to conservation of energy.

Can anyone give me ideas on how to find the contained angle? Thank you.
 
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Since it is a collision as well, you'd need to apply conservation of linear momentum in both the x and y directions.
 

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