Question

A bullet of mass 20g moving with a speed of 500m/s strikes a wooden block of mass 1kg and gets embedded in it. Find the speed with which block moves along with the bullet

Answer 1

Initial momentum of system = 20 × 10^-3 kg × 500 m/s
= 10 kgm/s

Final momentum of system = [(20 × 10^-3 kg) + 1 kg] × v
= 1.02v

According to law of conservation of momentum
Initial momentum of system = Final momentum of system
10 = 1.02 v
v = 9.80 m/s

Speed with which block moves along with the bullet is 9.80 m/s