Question

A hovering mosquito is hit by a raindrop that is 45 times as massive and falling at 8.2 m/s , a typical raindrop speed. How fast is the raindrop, with the attached mosquito, falling immediately afterward if the collision is perfectly inelastic

Answer 1

The speed of the raindrop and the mosquito is 8.02 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

mass of mosquito = m

mass of drop = 45 m

initial velocity of mosquito, u = 0 m/s

initial velocity of drop, u' = 8.2 m/s

During the inelastic collision, the momentum of the system is conserved.

Let the speed of rain drop and the mosquito is v.

Use the conservation of momentum

m x u + 45 m x u' = (m + 45 m) v

m x 0 + 45 m x 8.2 = 46 m x v

v = 8.02 m/s