A clay ball of mass is fired horizontally at a speed of toward a stationary wooden…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Work, Energy and Power · Work, Energy and Power
Problem
A clay ball of mass m=0.020kg is fired horizontally at a speed of 120ms−1 toward a stationary wooden block of mass M=1.5kg suspended from a light string of length 1.2m. The ball embeds in the block, and together they swing upward as a single unit.
Assume the duration of the impact is very short and external forces other than the string tension and the weight of the system can be neglected during that interval.
(1) Determine the speed v1 of the block–ball system immediately after the collision.
(2) Using the result from part (a), calculate the maximum vertical height h the system rises above its initial position.
(3) Compute the kinetic energy of the system just before impact and immediately after impact. Then find the percentage of kinetic energy lost during the collision.
(4) Explain, in terms of energy transformations and the physical properties of the materials involved, where the lost kinetic energy likely goes.