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bcjochim07
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Homework Statement
A 20 kg wood ball hangs from 2m long wire. The maximum tension the wire can withstand without breaking is 400N. A 1 kg projectile traveling horizontally hits and embeds itself in the wood ball. What is the largest speed this projectile can have with causing the wire to break?
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
I first used conservation of momentum
vop= initial velocity of projectile
(1kg)(vop)=(21kg)(vf)
Then I tried drawing a force body diagram. Then the thought occurred to me that not only tension acts in the radial direction, but also gravity once the pendulum swings out to an angle. So isn't momentum only conserved right before and right after the collision?
Any hints would be greatly appreciated.