The lead female character in the movie Diamonds Are Forever is standing at the e

Question

The lead female character in the movie Diamonds Are Forever is standing at the edge of an offshore oil rig. As she fires a gun, she is driven back over the edge and into the sea. Suppose the mass of a bullet is 0.044 kg and its velocity is +689 m/s. Her mass (including the gun) is 52 kg. (a) What recoil velocity does she acquire in response to a single shot from a stationary position, assuming that no external force keeps her in place? (b) Under the same assumption, what would be her recoil velocity if, instead, she shoots a blank cartridge that ejects a mass of 5.0 x 10-4 kg at a velocity of +689 m/s?

Explanation / Answer

(A) Applying momentum conservation,

momentum just before firing = momentum just after firing

0 = (0.044 x 689) - (52 v)

v = 0.58 m/s

(b) 0= (5 x 10^-4)(689) - (52 v)

v = 6.62 x 10^-3 m/s

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