a busy bee with a mass of 0.1 g zips around ferdinand's horns at a speed of 42 km/h. Ferdinands, who happens to be a bull, has a mass of 1000kg and runs at a speed of 11 km/h in an attempt to serve and make the bee dizzy. which one has the greater momentum.

1 answer

To find out which one has the greater momentum, we can use the momentum formula:

\[ \text{Momentum} (p) = \text{mass} (m) \times \text{velocity} (v) \]

First, we need to convert the speeds from kilometers per hour (km/h) to meters per second (m/s) for both the bee and Ferdinand.

  1. Converting bee's speed: \[ 42 \text{ km/h} \times \frac{1000 \text{ m}}{1 \text{ km}} \times \frac{1 \text{ h}}{3600 \text{ s}} = 11.67 \text{ m/s} \]

  2. Converting Ferdinand's speed: \[ 11 \text{ km/h} \times \frac{1000 \text{ m}}{1 \text{ km}} \times \frac{1 \text{ h}}{3600 \text{ s}} = 3.06 \text{ m/s} \]

Now we can calculate the momentum for each:

  1. Momentum of the bee:

    • Mass of the bee = 0.1 g = 0.0001 kg
    • Velocity of the bee = 11.67 m/s

    \[ p_{\text{bee}} = m_{\text{bee}} \times v_{\text{bee}} = 0.0001 \text{ kg} \times 11.67 \text{ m/s} = 0.0001167 \text{ kg m/s} \]

  2. Momentum of Ferdinand:

    • Mass of Ferdinand = 1000 kg
    • Velocity of Ferdinand = 3.06 m/s

    \[ p_{\text{Ferdinand}} = m_{\text{Ferdinand}} \times v_{\text{Ferdinand}} = 1000 \text{ kg} \times 3.06 \text{ m/s} = 3060 \text{ kg m/s} \]

Finally, we can compare the momentum values:

  • Momentum of the bee: \(0.0001167 \text{ kg m/s}\)
  • Momentum of Ferdinand: \(3060 \text{ kg m/s}\)

Clearly, Ferdinand has the greater momentum.