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Topic: Elastic and inelastic collisions in one and two dimensions· Work, Energy and Power

A bullet of mass 10 g moving horizontally with a velocity of 400 m s^-1 strikes a wooden block of mass 2 kg which is suspended by a light inextensible string of length 5 m. As a result, the centre of gravity of the block is found to rise a vertical d…

A bullet of mass 10 g moving horizontally with a velocity of 400 m s\(^{-1}\) strikes a wooden block of mass 2 kg which is suspended by a light inextensible string of length 5 m. As a result, the centre of gravity of the block is found to rise a vertical distance of 10 cm. The speed of the bullet after it emerges out horizontally from the block will be

1. 80 m s\(^{-1}\)

2. 120 m s\(^{-1}\)

3. 160 m s\(^{-1}\)

4. 100 m s\(^{-1}\)

1 answer

Best answer

Answer: 2. 120 m s\(^{-1}\)

Use energy for the swing of the block and momentum conservation for the collision.

  • Block after impact: \(v=\sqrt{2gh}=\sqrt{2\times10\times0.1}=\sqrt2\approx1.41\) m/s.
  • Momentum: \(0.01\times400=0.01\,v_b+2\times1.41\), so \(4=0.01v_b+2.83\).
$$v_b=\frac{1.17}{0.01}\approx117\approx120\ \text{m/s}$$

Option (2), the nearest value. The string length (5 m) is not needed.

Doubtly AI · 30 Oct 2026 AI-generated · not yet verified Report
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