Question

A 10 kg eagle is flying to the right at 6.6 m/s when it catches a pigeon of 1.1 kg that was flying to the left at 2.3 m/s. how fast will the eagle move after catching the pigeon?

Answer 1

The velocity of the eagle after catching the pigeon is approximately 5.84 m/s to the right.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the velocity of the eagle after catching the pigeon, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. According to this principle, the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision.

The momentum of the eagle before the collision is given by: momentum_eagle_before = mass_eagle * velocity_eagle = (10 kg) * (6.6 m/s) = 66 kg·m/s.

The momentum of the pigeon before the collision is: momentum_pigeon_before = mass_pigeon * velocity_pigeon = (1.1 kg) * (-2.3 m/s) = -2.53 kg·m/s.

After the collision, the total momentum is: total_momentum = momentum_eagle_after + momentum_pigeon_after.

Since momentum is conserved, we have: 66 kg·m/s - 2.53 kg·m/s = (10 kg + 1.1 kg) * velocity_after

Therefore, the velocity of the eagle after catching the pigeon is approximately 5.84 m/s to the right.