A ball of mass 0.5kg moving at 10ms−1 − 1 collides with another ball of equal mass at rest. If the two balls move off together after the impact, calculate t...

A ball of mass 0.5kg moving at 10ms−1 ${}^{-1}$ collides with another ball of equal mass at rest. If the two balls move off together after the impact, calculate their common velocity.

Answer Details

The final velocity of the two balls after the collision can be calculated using the principle of conservation of momentum. In an isolated system, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. Let's call the initial velocity of the first ball v1, and the final velocity of the two balls vf. Then, the momentum of the first ball before the collision is given by m1v1, and the total momentum of the two balls after the collision is given by (m1 + m2)vf, where m1 and m2 are the masses of the balls. Since the second ball is initially at rest, its initial velocity is zero, and its mass is 0.5 kg. So, the conservation of momentum equation is: m1 * v1 = (m1 + m2) * vf 0.5 * 10 = (0.5 + 0.5) * vf 5 = 1 * vf vf = 5 m/s So, the common velocity of the two balls after the collision is 5 m/s