An explosion breaks a rock into three parts in a horizontal plane. Two of them go off at right angles to each other. The first part of mass 1 kg moves with a speed of 12 m s-1 and the second part of mass 2 kg moves with 8 m s-1 speed. If the third part flies off with 4 m s-1 speed, then its mass is :
- 7 kg
- 17 kg
- 3 kg
- 5 kg
Answer
(4) 5 kg
Solution
Initial momentum of the rock is zero, so the total momentum after the explosion is also zero.
p1 = 1 12 = 12 kg m s-1
p2 = 2 8 = 16 kg m s-1 (perpendicular to p1)
p3 = p12 + p22 = 144 + 256 = 20 kg m s-1
m3 = p3v3 = 204 = 5 kg
Answer: (4)