Question

In midair in the international space station a 1 kg chunk of putty moving at 1 m/s collides with and sticks to a 5 kg chunk of putty initially at rest. at what speed does the 6 kg chunk travel after the collision?

Answer 1

We know that the momentum keeps constant in a inelastic collisions, so the product of mass and speed do not change:
m1 * v1 + m2 * v2 = m * v
1 * 1 + 5 * 0 = (1 + 5) * v
1 = 6 * v
v = 1/6 m/s
So the final speed of the 6 kg chunk will travel at 0.167 m/s