- #1
boredaxel
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Homework Statement
A spring of negligible mass
and force constant k = 400 N/m is hung vertically, and a 0.200-kg
pan is suspended from its lower end. A butcher drops a 2.2-kg
steak onto the pan from a height of 0.40 m. The steak makes a
totally inelastic collision with the pan and sets the system into ver-
tical SlIM. What are (a) the speed of the pan and steak immedi-
ately after the collision;
Homework Equations
P = Mv
The Attempt at a Solution
I can't really see how linear momentum can be conserved in this case. Doesnt the weight of the steak constitue a net external force on the system? How then can momentum be conserved? I can do the rest of the problem if i clarify this doubt. Thanks