College Physics (4th Edition)

Published by McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 10: 0073512141
ISBN 13: 978-0-07351-214-3

Chapter 7 - Problems - Page 263: 23

Answer

The recoil speed of the rifle is $1.82~m/s$

Work Step by Step

We can assume the initial momentum of the system is zero. By conservation of momentum, if the bullet gains a certain momentum $p_b$ in one direction, the rifle will gain the same magnitude of momentum $p_r$ in the opposite direction. We can find the recoil speed $v_r$ of the rifle: $p_r = p_b$ $m_r~v_r = m_b~v_b$ $v_r = \frac{m_b~v_b}{m_r}$ $v_r = \frac{(0.010~kg)(820~m/s)}{4.5~kg}$ $v_r = 1.82~m/s$ The recoil speed of the rifle is $1.82~m/s$.
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