More than just a momentum problem

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The discussion focuses on a conservation of momentum problem involving a bullet and a block of wood. A user initially struggles to calculate the speed of the block after a bullet passes through it, using the momentum conservation equation. After some back-and-forth, it is confirmed that the user's approach was correct, but a calculation error was the source of confusion. The user ultimately resolves the issue and thanks the participants for their assistance. The thread highlights the importance of careful arithmetic in solving physics problems.
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When a bullet traveling at 721 m/s strikes a block of wood originally at rest on a frictionless surface, the bullet emerges from the other side of the block of wood traveling at 349 m/s. If the mass of the bullet is 5.38 g and the mass of the block is 744 g, what is the speed of the block after the collision?


I don't know what to do, I tried doing m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v1' + m2v2', and I couldn't get the answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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macgirl06 said:
I don't know what to do, I tried doing m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v1' + m2v2', and I couldn't get the answer.
But this is "just" a conservation of momentum problem, so that should work. Show exactly what you did. What values did you use?
 
I did the following:

(0.0058kg)(721 m/s) - (0.0058kg)(349m/s) \ 0.744 kg

and that didnt work

and thnks for the fast reply
 
macgirl06 said:
I did the following:

(0.0058kg)(721 m/s) - (0.0058kg)(349m/s) \ 0.744 kg
That looks perfectly OK to me:
Speed of block = [(0.0058kg)(721 m/s) - (0.0058kg)(349m/s)]/(0.744 kg)

Check your arithmetic; perhaps you made an error there.
 
I have tried that many many times, are you sure there arent any tricks to this question or something you have overlooked?
 
This is as straightforward a momentum conservation problem as you are likely to find. What answer did you get and why do you think it's wrong?
 
I got it, it was just a calculational error. Thanks for the clarification!
 
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