Two birds of prey hurtling after the same mouse collide in mid-air and grab each other with their talons. Each 250-g bird is flying at 30 m/s at a 60° angle to the ground.

Use this exhibit to answer the following question(s).
- What is the horizontal component of their momentum, in , immediately after the collision?
A)0
B)6.1
C)7.5
D)13
E)15

Question

Two birds of prey hurtling after the same mouse collide in mid-air and grab each other with their talons. Each 250-g bird is flying at 30 m/s at a 60° angle to the ground.
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Use this exhibit to answer the following question(s).
- What is the horizontal component of their momentum, in  , immediately after the collision?
A)0 
B)6.1 
C)7.5 
D)13 
E)15

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The horizontal component of momentum of each bird before the collision is mvcos(60°) = 0.25*30*0.5 = 3.75 kg m/s in the positive x-direction for one bird and negative x-direction for the other. Since they collide and stick together, their horizontal momentum cancels out, resulting in a final horizontal momentum of 0.

Two Birds of Prey Hurtling After the Same Mouse Collide