Kinetic energy of ball 1 after elastic 2D collision

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Necropolitan
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[SOLVED] Elastic collision in 2 dimensions

Homework Statement



A ball with mass m and initial velocity v1i collides elastically with a second ball of the same mass that is initially at rest. After the collision, the first ball moves away at an angle of θ1 with respect to the initial velocity. What is the kinetic energy of the first ball after the collision, with respect to the variables m, v1i, and θ1?


Homework Equations



v1i - v1f*cos(θ1) = v2f*cos(θ2)
v1f*sin(θ1) = v2f*sin(θ2)
v1i2 = v1f2 + v2f2
KE1f = 0.5*m*v1f2

The Attempt at a Solution



I know I have enough information to solve for the final kinetic energy of the first ball, but I'm stumped on how to isolate the unknown variables from the system of equations.
So far I have:
v1i2 = v2f2*((sin2(θ2) / sin2(θ1)) + 1)
tan(θ2) = v1f*sin(θ1) / (v1i - v1f*cos(θ1))
But I don't know where to go from here.

EDIT: I squared the first and second equations and added them together, so now I have
v1i2 - 2*v1i*v1f*cos(θ1) + v1f2 = v2f2

I substituted using the kinetic energy balance equation, did the algebra, and came up with
v1i2 - 2*v1i*v1f*cos(θ1) + v1f2 = v1i2 - v1f2

Simplifying this gave:
v1f = v1i*cos(θ1)

Therefore the kinetic energy of ball 1 after the collision is
KE1f = 0.5*m*(v1i*cos(θ1))2
 
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Welcome to PF!

Hi Necropolitan! Welcome to PF! :wink:
Necropolitan said:
EDIT: I squared the first and second equations and added them together, so now I have
v1i2 - 2*v1i*v1f*cos(θ1) + v1f2 = v2f2
Now I'll try to see if this gets me anywhere.

Yup, that should do it! :smile: