Question

A hovering mosquito is hit by a raindrop that is 50 times as massive and falling at 8.5 m/sm/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

Answer:

$v = 8.333\,\frac{m}{s}$

Explanation:

The system mosquito-raindrop is described by the Principle of Momentum Conservation:

$(50\cdot m)\cdot (8.5\,\frac{m}{s})+m\cdot (0\,\frac{m}{s} ) = 51\cdot m \cdot v$

$425 = 51\cdot v$

The final speed is:

$v = 8.333\,\frac{m}{s}$