In: Physics
A little kid is shooting at a target with a slingshot. He picks up a rock that weighs 0.028 kg (approx. 1 oz), loads it into his slingshot pouch, and pulls back the slingshot 300 mm (about 11.8 in.) before launching the rock. He had to pull with a force of about 50 N (about 11.24 lbf) to get the slingshot bands to stretch this much.
How fast will the rock be traveling at the instant he shoots?
Solution:
Mass of the rock,
Distance by which the slingshot is pulled back,
Force applied to stretch the slingshot bands,
Elastic energy stored in the slingshot bands, = Work done on the rock to pull it back,
Work done on the rock to pull it back,
Kinetic energy of the rock at the time of shoot, Elastic energy stored in the slingshot bands,
Kinetic energy of the rock at the time of shoot is given by,
, where is the speed of the rock at the time of shooting
Speed of the rock at the instant of shoot is 32.73 m/s. So, the rock is travelling at a speed of 32.73 m/s at the time the kid shoots.