A 1.08 kg skateboard is coasting along the pavement at a speed of 4.60 m/s when a 1.19 kg cat drops from a tree vertically downward onto the skateboard. What is the speed of the skateboard-cat combination?
Angela, you so fine<3
m1•v= (m1+m2) •u
u = m1•v/ (m1+m2)
Thanks Elena!!
CASEY, you da finest.
To find the speed of the skateboard-cat combination after the cat drops onto the skateboard, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. The total momentum before the cat drops is equal to the total momentum after the cat drops.
Before the cat drops, the skateboard's momentum can be calculated using the formula:
Momentum = Mass × Velocity
The mass of the skateboard is 1.08 kg, and its velocity is 4.60 m/s, so its momentum is:
Momentum before = 1.08 kg × 4.60 m/s = 4.968 kg·m/s (approx.)
Similarly, the cat's momentum before it drops can be calculated using its mass and the fact that it is initially at rest (velocity = 0). The cat's momentum before is:
Momentum cat before = 1.19 kg × 0 m/s = 0 kg·m/s
The total momentum before the cat drops is the sum of the momentum of the skateboard and the cat:
Total momentum before = Momentum before + Momentum cat before
= 4.968 kg·m/s + 0 kg·m/s
= 4.968 kg·m/s
According to the conservation of momentum, the total momentum after the cat drops is also equal to 4.968 kg·m/s. Since the skateboard and cat are now moving together, their velocities are the same. Let's assume the speed of the skateboard-cat combination after the cat drops is v (m/s).
The momentum of the skateboard-cat combination after the cat drops can be calculated using the formula:
Momentum after = Total mass × Velocity
The total mass is the sum of the masses of the skateboard and the cat:
Total mass = Mass of skateboard + Mass of cat
= 1.08 kg + 1.19 kg
= 2.27 kg
Now we can calculate the speed of the skateboard-cat combination:
Momentum after = 4.968 kg·m/s
Speed of skateboard-cat combination = (Momentum after) / (Total mass)
= 4.968 kg·m/s / 2.27 kg
= 2.19 m/s (approx.)
Therefore, the speed of the skateboard-cat combination after the cat drops is approximately 2.19 m/s.