- #1
gutupio
- 5
- 0
Homework Statement
A ball is dropped straight down onto a wedge that is sitting on top of a frictionless surface. The wedge is at an angle of 45degreees and has a mass of 5.00kg. The ball has a mass of 3.00kg.
If the ball collides with the wedge at 4.50m/s, and the collision is instantaneous and totally elastic, what are the velocities of the wedge and ball afterwards?
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Homework Equations
P1i + P2i = P1f + P2f
K1i + K2i = K1f = K2f
The Attempt at a Solution
I know the wedge, after the collision, is going to be sliding along the x-axis.
I assume because the normal force is perpendicular to the surface of the wedge, the ball will bounce away at the normal force, or a 45degree angle.
I'm confused because if the wedge only slides horizontally, with no component, that means all of the vertical component of the momentum is transferred to the ball, so the balls vertical momentum is equal to it's original vertical momentum. If the ball bounces away at a 45degree angle, it's vertical components are the same, which means it has a larger momentum than when it started, and this doesn't make sense to me.