High School

A Revolutionary War cannon, with a mass of 2160 kg, fires a 22.1 kg ball horizontally. The cannonball has a speed of 143 m/s after it has left the barrel. The cannon carriage is on a flat platform and is free to roll horizontally.

What is the speed of the cannon immediately after it was fired?

Answer in units of m/s.

Answer :

Final answer:

To find the speed of the cannon immediately after it was fired, we can use the law of conservation of momentum. The total momentum of the system before the cannonball is fired is equal to the total momentum after the cannonball is fired. Solving for the velocity of the cannon, we find it to be 1.47 m/s.

Explanation:

To find the speed of the cannon immediately after it was fired, we can use the law of conservation of momentum. The total momentum of the system before the cannonball is fired is equal to the total momentum after the cannonball is fired. Since there are no external horizontal forces acting on the system, the momentum of the cannonball is equal to the momentum of the cannon. The momentum of an object is given by the product of its mass and velocity, so we can write:

(mass of cannon) x (velocity of cannon) = (mass of cannonball) x (velocity of cannonball)

Substituting the given values, we have:

(2160 kg) x (velocity of cannon) = (22.1 kg) x (143 m/s)

Solving for the velocity of the cannon, we find:

velocity of cannon = (22.1 kg x 143 m/s) / 2160 kg = 1.47 m/s

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