Physics 1307 Quiz 3 Solution Problem : A billiard ball of mass m A =0.400kg moving with constant speed v A =1.8m/s strikes a second ball, initially at rest, of mass m B =0.500kg . As a result of the collision, the first ball is deflected off at an angle of 30.0 º with a speed of v ' A=1.1m/ s . (a) Taking the xaxis to be the original direction of motion of ball A, write down the equations expressing the conservation of momentum for the components in the x and y directions separately. (b) Solve the equations for the speed v ' B and ' of ball B. Do not assume the collision to be elastic and do not forget to draw a picture of the situation before and after of the collision. We start with a picture of the collision:
y
vA '
v A =1.8 m/s
x
mA=0.400 kg
mB=0.500 kg ' vB '
Let us use conservation of linear momentum along each component: xcomponent pix = p fx 0.4kg 1.8
m s
=0.4kg 1.1
m s
ycomponent piy = p fy
cos 300 0.5kg v B x '
v B x '=0.68
0=0.4kg 1.1
m
m s
sin 30 00.5kg v By '
v By ' =−0.44
s
1/2
m s
Now to find magnitude and direction we just have to remember the definitions of these two quantities: 2