The collision between a hammer and a nail can be considered to be approximately elastic. Estimate the kinetic energy acquired by a 13 g nail when it is struck by a 550 g hammer moving with an initial speed of 4.0 m/s.

I solved for the final velocities of both and got 3.8 m/s for the hammer and 8.46 m/s for the nail.

How do I get my final answer.. I'm so close! haha

Ki = (.5*mass of hammer*vi^2)

Kf = (.5*mass of hammer*vf^2)
* you should add the Kf of the nail too, but for me it was near negligible.

Ki-Kf = :]

Calculate the kinetic energy acquired by a 15-g nail when it is struck by a 600-g hammer moving with an initial speed of 4.1m/s .

To calculate the kinetic energy acquired by the nail when it is struck by the hammer, you need to use the formula for kinetic energy:

Kinetic Energy = (1/2) * mass * velocity^2

Given that the mass of the nail is 13 g (or 0.013 kg) and the final velocity of the nail is 8.46 m/s, you can substitute these values into the formula:

Kinetic Energy of the nail = (1/2) * 0.013 kg * (8.46 m/s)^2

Simplifying the equation gives:

Kinetic Energy of the nail = 0.5 * 0.013 kg * 71.4916 m^2/s^2

Kinetic Energy of the nail = 0.4635796 Joules

So, the kinetic energy acquired by the 13 g nail when struck by the 550 g hammer with an initial speed of 4.0 m/s is approximately 0.4636 Joules.