Calculate Your Speed after Elastic Collision on Ice in Buffalo

In summary, the conversation involved discussing a scenario where a person stands on an ice-covered football stadium parking lot and catches a ball thrown by a friend. The person's mass is 70.4 kg and the ball's mass is 0.400 kg. The ball initially travels horizontally at 10.8 m/s and after it hits the person's chest, it bounces off and moves horizontally at 7.90 m/s in the opposite direction. The person's final speed after the collision is calculated as 10.6 cm/s.
  • #1
badman
57
0
You are standing on a sheet of ice that covers the football stadium parking lot in Buffalo; there is negligible friction between your feet and the ice. A friend throws you a ball of mass 0.400 kg that is traveling horizontally at 10.8 m/s. Your mass is 70.4 kg.

this is my first answer
If you catch the ball, with what speed do you and the ball move afterwards?
6.1 cm/sCorrect
my answersdisplay math

Part B
If the ball hits you and bounces off your chest, so afterwards it is moving horizontally at 7.90 m/s in the opposite direction, what is your speed after the collision?
cm/s


with the second part, i calculated the first momentum before the collision then the one for after. i subtracted the after from before and devided my the mass of the boy and i got 1.64 cm/s. is this wrong? the velocity of the boy before the collison is zero becasue he's at rest.
 
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  • #2
The final momentum of the ball is negative compared to the inital momentum. Your calculation has treated it as positive.
 
  • #3
you mean 1.65 should be a negative if so, i still ended up wrong with it.
 
  • #4
badman said:
you mean 1.65 should be a negative if so, i still ended up wrong with it.

No.

You calculated the initial momentum of the ball and got _________

You calculated the final momentum of the ball and got _________

You subtracted the second number from the first treating both as postive, but in fact your second number is negative. If you treat it correctly, your final velocity will be greater in part B than it was in part A.
 
  • #5
thnaks dude. i solved it was 10.6cm/s
 

1. What is an elastic collision?

An elastic collision is a type of collision in which the total kinetic energy of the system is conserved. This means that the total energy before the collision is equal to the total energy after the collision.

2. How do you calculate the speed after an elastic collision on ice in Buffalo?

The formula for calculating the speed after an elastic collision is v2 = ((m1-m2)v1 + 2m2v2) / (m1+m2), where v1 and v2 are the initial velocities of the two objects, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and v2 is the final velocity of the object with mass m2.

3. What are the units for speed in this calculation?

The units for speed in this calculation will depend on the units used for mass and velocity. For example, if mass is measured in kilograms and velocity is measured in meters per second, then the units for speed will be meters per second.

4. How does friction affect the speed after an elastic collision on ice in Buffalo?

In an ideal situation, friction should not have any effect on the speed after an elastic collision on ice in Buffalo. However, in the real world, there will always be some friction present which may slightly decrease the final speed of the objects.

5. Can this calculation be used for non-ice surfaces in Buffalo?

Yes, this calculation can be used for any elastic collision on any surface in Buffalo as long as the initial conditions (mass and velocity) are known and the collision is assumed to be perfectly elastic.

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