Serway & Jewett — Linear Momentum and Collisions: Problem 43

Review. A student performs a ballistic pendulum experiment using an apparatus similar to that discussed in Example 9.6 and shown in Figure P9.36. She obtains the following average data: \(h = 8.68\text{ cm}\), projectile mass \(m_1 = 68.8\text{ g}\), and pendulum mass \(m_2 = 263\text{ g}\). (a) Determine the initial speed \(v_{1A}\) of the projectile. (b) The second part of her experiment is to obtain \(v_{1A}\) by firing the same projectile horizontally (with the pendulum removed from the path) and measuring its final horizontal position \(x\) and distance of fall \(y\) (Fig. P9.43). What numerical value does she obtain for \(v_{1A}\) based on her measured values of \(x = 257\text{ cm}\) and \(y = 85.3\text{ cm}\)? (c) What factors might account for the difference in this value compared with that obtained in part (a)?