Two balls collide on a horizontal, frictionless table. Ball A has a mass of 0.175 kg and travelling at 1.20 m/s [E 40o S]. Ball B has a mass of 0.225 kg and is travelling at 0.68 m/s [E]. The velocity of ball B after collision is 0.93 m/s [E 23o S]. What is the velocity of ball A after the collision? What percentage of the kinetic energy is lost in the collision?

Question

Two balls collide on a horizontal, frictionless table. Ball A has a mass of 0.175 kg and travelling at 1.20 m/s [E 40o S]. Ball B has a mass of 0.225 kg and is travelling at 0.68 m/s [E]. The velocity of ball B after collision is 0.93 m/s [E 23o S]. What is the velocity of ball A after the collision? What percentage of the kinetic energy is lost in the collision?

bobpursley · Answer

Break the problem into E-W components, and N-S components. Then solve by use of conservation of momentum in each of those directions.