Olaf is standing on a sheet of ice that covers the football stadium parking lot

Question

Olaf is standing on a sheet of ice that covers the football stadium parking lot in Buffalo, New York; there is negligible friction between his feet and the ice. A friend throws Olaf a ball of mass 0.400kg that is traveling horizontally at 10.2m/s . Olaf's mass is 73.0kg .(Figure 1)

If Olaf catches the ball, with what speed vf do Olaf and the ball move afterward?

If the ball hits Olaf and bounces off his chest horizontally at 7.70m/s in the opposite direction, what is his speed vf after the collision?

Explanation / Answer

Using conservation of momentum and the fact that Ol

af's initial momentum is zero, set the initial

momentum of the ball equal to the final momentum of

Olaf and the ball, then solve for the final

velocity.

vf =( mb/ m0 + mb ) V i

   = 0.4 kg/0.4 kg + 73 kg ) 10.2 m/s

=0.055 m/s or 5.55 cm/s

-----------------------------------------------------------

vf = mb ( vi + vf)/ m0 = 0.4 kg ( 10.2 m/s + 7.7 m/s)/ 73 kg

     =9.8 cm/s

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