How Do Falcon Attacks Alter the Flight Path of Their Prey?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mnafetsc
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Bird Collision
AI Thread Summary
Peregrine falcons alter the flight path of their prey, such as ravens, by striking them at high speeds to protect their nests. In a specific incident, a falcon weighing 620 g and flying at 20.0 m/s collided with a 1.40 kg raven flying at 9.0 m/s, resulting in the falcon bouncing back at 5.0 m/s. The discussion involves calculating the angle of change in the raven's direction and its speed post-collision using conservation of momentum. Attempts to solve the problem included breaking down the momentum into components, but initial calculations yielded incorrect angles. The complexity arises from the inelastic nature of the collision, leading to confusion in the calculations.
mnafetsc
Messages
14
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



To protect their young in the nest, peregrine falcons will fly into birds of prey (such as ravens) at high speed. In one such episode, a 620 g falcon flying at 20.0 m/s hit a 1.40 kg raven flying at 9.0 m/s. The falcon hit the raven at right angles to its original path and bounced back at 5.0 m/s. (These figures were estimated by the author as he watched this attack occur in northern New Mexico.)

A.By what angle did the falcon change the raven's direction of motion?
B.What was the raven's speed right after the collision?

Homework Equations


P=mv

conservation of momentum


The Attempt at a Solution



I put the falcon on the y-axis and the raven on the x axis, I ten tried to find the a and y components of p then did theta= arctan9p2/p1) which gave me 45 degrees-wrong

I then tried to find the x and y components using
m_F_v_Fi + m_R_V_Ri = m_F_v_Ff + m_R_V_Rf

Solving for v_Rf for the x and y compents I got 9 and 8.16 respectively, the had theta= arctan(8.16/9)= 42 degrees again wrong.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
mnafetsc said:

Homework Statement



To protect their young in the nest, peregrine falcons will fly into birds of prey (such as ravens) at high speed. In one such episode, a 620 g falcon flying at 20.0 m/s hit a 1.40 kg raven flying at 9.0 m/s. The falcon hit the raven at right angles to its original path and bounced back at 5.0 m/s. (These figures were estimated by the author as he watched this attack occur in northern New Mexico.)

A.By what angle did the falcon change the raven's direction of motion?
B.What was the raven's speed right after the collision?

Homework Equations


P=mv

conservation of momentum


The Attempt at a Solution



I put the falcon on the y-axis and the raven on the x axis, I ten tried to find the a and y components of p then did theta= arctan9p2/p1) which gave me 45 degrees-wrong
Precisely how did you get that? Are you assuming a perfectly elastic collision? That's probably not correct. What percentage inelasticity are you assuming?

I then tried to find the x and y components using
m_F_v_Fi + m_R_V_Ri = m_F_v_Ff + m_R_V_Rf

Solving for v_Rf for the x and y compents I got 9 and 8.16 respectively, the had theta= arctan(8.16/9)= 42 degrees again wrong.
 
Pretty much I did p=sqrt(p_1_^2 +p_2_^2

But I realize that is wrong because its not elastic situation, I know is inelastic, but not perfectly inelastic so I used the second equation thinking that would work, I'm not quite sure were to go from there.
 
Never mind I was doing it correctly, I just kept making some unknown calculation error that kept giving me the wrong angle.
 

Thread 'Errors and significant figures'

I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
View full post »
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
View full post »

Similar threads

Calculating Direction and Speed Change in a Peregrine Falcon and Raven Collision
Replies
2
Views
3K
Birds Colliding mid-air, Conservation of Momentum
Replies
1
Views
5K
How Does a Hawk's Collision with a Pigeon Alter Its Flight Path and Speed?
Replies
1
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top