Walker, Halliday & Resnick — Center of Mass and Linear Momentum: Problem 69

69 A small ball of mass m is aligned above a larger ball of mass M = 0.63 kg (with a slight separation, as with the baseball and basketball of Fig. 9-60a), and the two are dropped simultaneously from a height of h = 1.8 m. (Assume the radius of each ball is negligible relative to h.) (a) If the larger ball rebounds elastically from the floor and then the small ball rebounds elastically from the larger ball, what value of m results in the larger ball stopping when it collides with the small ball? (b) What height does the small ball then reach (Fig. 9-60b)?