Elastic Collision of Two Blocks
Find the center of mass velocity for the elastic head-on collision for a 4 kg and 2 kg mass both moving in the same direction as 6.0 m/s and 3.0 m/s, respectively.
The problem initially tells us it is an elastic collision. Does this matter for find the center of mass velocity?
Answer
It actually does not. Elastic or inelastic will change how the velocity is split between the two masses, but in every collision momentum has to be conserved. If you simply look at the momentum of the system (the system mass times the center of mass velocity), then momentum has to be constant because the only interactions are within the system. So as long as momentum is conserved, center of mass velocity is a constant regardless of the nature of the collisions within the system.
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It actually does not. Elastic or inelastic will change how the velocity is split between the two masses, but in every collision momentum has to be conserved. If you simply look at the momentum of the system (the system mass times the center of mass velocity), then momentum has to be constant because the only interactions are within the system. So as long as momentum is conserved, center of mass velocity is a constant regardless of the nature of the collisions within the system.