You are at a carnival watching a stunt in which an arrow is shot by a performer

Question

You are at a carnival watching a stunt in which an arrow is shot by a performer into a bale of hay ridden by a cowboy (because that totally makes sense). After the arrow hits the hay, the cowboy slides a distance of 5 m on the ice. You are suspicious about this stunt so you want to figure out whether there is a trick to it. You know that coefficients of friction for ice and various other materials are usually quite low, so you decide to use a conservative estimate of 0.05. An average person weighs around 70kg and bales of hay are usually around half that. Is there a trick to the stunt?

Explanation / Answer

acceleration a = -u*g = -0.05*9.8 = -0.49 m/s^2

from equation of motion

vf^2 - vi^2 = 2*ax*x

0 - v^2 = -2* 0.49*5

v = 2.21 m/s

from momentum conservation

initial momentm = final momentum

m*u = (m+M)*v

0.5*u = (70+35+0.5)*2.21

u = 466.31 m/s

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse Y
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.