Question

A 1.45 kg falcon catches a 0.515 kg dove from behind in midair. What is their velocity after impact if the falcon's velocity is initially 26.5 m/s and the dove's velocity is 4.95 m/s in the same direction?

Answer 1

Answer:

Their velocity after the impact is 20.85 m/s.                            

Explanation:

Given that,

Mass of falcon, $m_1=1.45\ kg$

Mass of dove, $m_2=0.515\ kg$

Initial speed of the falcon, $u_1=26.5\ m/s$

Initial speed of the dove, $u_2=4.95\ m/s$

We need to find the final velocity after the impact. When the falcon catches the dove, it will becomes the case of inelastic collision. The conservation of momentum will be :

$m_1u_1+m_2u_2=(m_1+m_2)V\\\\V=\dfrac{m_1u_1+m_2u_2}{(m_1+m_2)}\\\\V=\dfrac{1.45\times 26.5+0.515\times 4.95}{(1.45+0.515)}\\\\V=20.85\ m/s$

So, their velocity after the impact is 20.85 m/s.