SPH4U Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic & Inelastic Collisions

1. An 8.0 g bullet, moving at 400 m/s, goes through a stationary block of wood in 4.0 ×
10–4 s, emerging at a speed of 100 m/s.
(a) What average force did the wood exert on the bullet?
(b) How thick is the wood?

2. A billiard ball, mass 0.16 kg, hits a bumper. Immediately before the collision, the
ball is travelling horizontally towards the bumper at 2.5 s. The collision lasts 0.0050
s. Immediately after the collision, the ball is travelling horizontally away from the
bumper at 1.75 m/s. Find the force of the bumper on the billiard ball.
SPH4U Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic & Inelastic Collisions

3. A vehicle, of mass 2155 kg, travelling 19 m/s [E], is struck by another vehicle, of
mass 1900 kg, that is travelling 23m/s [E 36oN]. After the collision, the vehicles are
joined together.
a) Determine the velocity of the vehicles after the collision.
b) Determine whether the collision is elastic or inelastic.
SPH4U Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic & Inelastic Collisions

4. Two common and identical carts are used to perform an experiment. Cart A is
pushed toward stationary cart B with a velocity of 2.6 m/s. After the collision, cart A
bounces back with a speed of 0.8 m/s and cart B moves with a speed of 3.4 m/s.
Why is this not possible? Justify your answer with appropriate calculations.

5. A 0.40-kg cue ball makes a glancing blow to a stationary 0.30-kg billiard ball so that
the cue ball deflects with a speed of 1.2 m/s at an angle of 30.0º from its original
path. Calculate the original speed of the cue ball if the billiard ball ends up
travelling at 1.5 m/s.
SPH4U Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic & Inelastic Collisions

6. A 1.0 kg grenade explodes into four pieces, all moving parallel to the ground. The
first piece of mass 0.20 kg moves east at 24 m/s. The second piece, mass 0.30 kg
flies north at 18 m/s. A third piece of mass 0.25 kg is directed west at 30 m/s. What
is the velocity of the fourth piece?
SPH4U Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic & Inelastic Collisions

7. A ball of mass 0.2 kg is hanging on a 1.5 m string. It is raised to a 15o angle and then
released. It strikes a ball of mass 0.1 kg hanging directly vertically also on a 1.5 m
string. If the collision is perfectly elastic, what is the maximum height of each of
the balls after the collision?