A ball A of mass .202 kg is moving at a velocity of 2.0 m/s toward a ball B that is at rest.
(a) Calculate the initial momentum for Ball A and Ball B.
(b) Calculate initial Kinetic energy for Ball A and Ball B.
My doubt since its asking for initial moment only, can I simply calculate each separately? The collision hasn't occurred yet.
Your assumption is correct. If you simply choose initial to be "before the collision,"
a)
P(iA) = 0.202 * 2
P(iB) = 0
b)
KE(iA) = .5 * .202 * (2)^2
KE(iB) = 0
Yes, you are correct. Since the question is asking for the initial momentum and kinetic energy of each ball before the collision, you can calculate them separately for each ball. The collision has not yet occurred, so the values for each ball will be solely based on their individual states before the collision.
To calculate the initial momentum (P) for each ball, you can use the equation:
P = mass x velocity
For Ball A,
mass = 0.202 kg
velocity = 2.0 m/s
So, the initial momentum of Ball A is:
P(A) = 0.202 kg x 2.0 m/s = 0.404 kg·m/s
Since Ball B is at rest, its velocity will be 0 m/s, which means the initial momentum of Ball B will be zero.
For the initial kinetic energy (KE) of each ball, you can use the equation:
KE = (1/2) x mass x velocity^2
For Ball A,
mass = 0.202 kg
velocity = 2.0 m/s
So, the initial kinetic energy of Ball A is:
KE(A) = (1/2) x 0.202 kg x (2.0 m/s)^2 = 0.404 J
Since Ball B is at rest, its velocity will be 0 m/s, which means the initial kinetic energy of Ball B will also be zero.
Therefore, you can calculate the initial momentum and kinetic energy separately for each ball, as the collision has not yet occurred.