In: Physics
From the reference frame of the Earth, a 0.0500-kilogram ball
moving in the +x
direction at 4.0 m/s overtakes and collides with a 0.1000-kg ball
moving in the +x direction
at 2.0 m/s. Assume that the collision is perfectly elastic, with
all motion after the collision
also along the x axis, and that the balls are moving on a
horizontal, friction-less surface.
Only Galilean relativity is needed for this problem.
(1) Calculate the speed and directions of each ball after the
collision. Hint: use energy
and momentum conservation.
(2) Use Galilean transformations to determine the velocities of
each ball as measured in
the reference frame of the 0.0500-kg ball, both before and after
the collision.
(3) Using your velocities from part (b), explicitly determine
whether total energy and
momentum are conserved in the 0.0500-kg ball's reference frame.