Wildlife biologists fire 20kg rubber bullets to stop a rhinoceros charging at 0.83m/s. The bullets strike the rhino and drop vertically to the ground. The biologists' gun fires 15 bullets each second, at 73m/s , and it takes 31sto stop the rhino.
To find the mass of the rhinoceros, we can use the formula for momentum, which is:
p = m * v
where:
p = momentum of the rhino
m = mass of the rhino
v = velocity of the rhino
In this case, the rhino is initially charging at a velocity of 0.83 m/s. The momentum of the rhino before it is hit by the rubber bullets is given by:
p_initial = m * v_initial
After being hit by the rubber bullets, the rhino comes to a stop. The momentum of the rhino after it comes to a stop is:
p_final = 0 (since the rhino is at rest)
According to the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. Therefore:
p_initial = p_final
m * v_initial = 0
m = 0 / v_initial
m = 0 / 0.83 m/s
m = 0 kg
This means that the mass of the rhino is 0 kg. However, this result does not make sense since rhinos do have mass. Therefore, there might be an error or missing information in the given problem.