A 1-kg chunk of putty moving at 1 m/s collides with and sticks to a 5-kg bowling ball that is initially at rest in space. The bowling ball and putty are then set in motion with a speed of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum before the collision equals the total momentum after the collision. The initial momentum is (1 kg * 1 m/s) + (5 kg * 0 m/s) = 1 kg*m/s. After the collision, the combined mass is 6 kg. Therefore, the speed is 1 kg*m/s / 6 kg = 1/6 m/s.

A 1-Kg Chunk of Putty Moving at 1 M/s Collides