Impact of a Bullet into a Block

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around a physics problem involving a bullet impacting a block of wood. The bullet's mass is 12g, and the block's mass is 87.8g, with the block sliding 9.8m before stopping. The user expresses frustration with their teaching assistant's lack of effective teaching despite having a PhD. They have calculated the normal and frictional forces but are unsure how to proceed to find the bullet's speed before impact. Guidance is requested on applying the work-energy theorem and conservation of momentum to solve the problem.
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So I checked out the physics class I was taking on ratemyprofessor.com and John Ross was the guy who was teaching it. He had good reviews, so I figured I'll take his class. Well, a TA is teaching it, and I won't name the person, but he isn't really a teacher--even with his PhD in astrophysics. Needless to say, I'll probably be needing quite a bit of help. Thanks in advance for anyone who does help.

Homework Statement


A 12g bullet is fired in a 87.8g block of wood at rest on a horizontal surface and stays inside. After impact, the block slides 9.8m before coming to rest. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s^2

If the coefficient of friction between the surface and the block is .5, find the speed of the bullet before impact.

Answer: 81.5033 m/s

Homework Equations


Normal Force = mg
Work = Distance * Force
Another one with velocity in the variable

The Attempt at a Solution


The farthest I got was finding the frictional force that opposes the motion of the block.

Normal Force = (.012+.0878)(9.8) = .97804 in the upward direction
Friction Force = (.5)(.97804) = .48902

I suppose I could turn that into work, which would be:

Work = (.48902)(9.8) = 4.79240 in the westward direction

That gives me the force that opposes the motion of the block, but I don't think that gets me anywhere closer to the velocity. This is where I am stuck, and although I know the answer, I will have to know how to do this for the test. Any guidance will be much appreciated.
 
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Yes, good so far. Now find the velocity of the mass-bullet system immediately after impact by using the work-energy theorem . Then it's conservation of momentum.
 
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