A bullet of mass is fired horizontally into a stationary wooden block of mass…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials
Problem
A bullet of mass 20g is fired horizontally into a stationary wooden block of mass 1.98kg suspended by light strings. The bullet embeds itself in the block, and the combined system rises to a vertical height of 0.20m before momentarily coming to rest.
(i) Calculate the initial speed of the bullet.
(ii) Compute the kinetic energy lost during the collision between the bullet and the block.