Solve for v2Plutonium-239 Decay: Find Speed of Uranium-235

[negation]

Homework Statement

A plutonium-239 nucleus at rest decays into a uranium-235 nucleus by emitting an alpha particle (4He) with kinetic energy of 5.15 MeV.

Find the speed of the uranium nucleus.

The Attempt at a Solution

How should I approach this problem?

m₁v₁=-m₂v₂

 

[BruceW]

yeah, keep going. So, what is m2 and m1 ?

 

[negation]

yeah, keep going. So, what is m2 and m1 ?

Its not given?

 

[BruceW]

I guess you are meant to look them up.

 

[ehild]

You know the masses, but need the speed of the alpha particle. Calculate it from the given KE.

ehild