Question

A bomb travelling in a parabolic path under the effect of gravity, explodes in mid air. The centre of mass of fragment will.

• A. Move vertically upwards and then downwards
• B. Move vertically downwards
• C. Move in irregular path
• D. Move in the parabolic path which the unexploded bomb would have travelled.

Answer 1

The correct option is D Move in the parabolic path which the unexploded bomb would have travelled.

When a bomb travelling in a a parabolic path under the effect of gravity explodes in mid air, the center of mass of the fragment will move along the original parabolic path.

We know that when no external force acts on a system, the velocity of the center of the mass of the system remains constant.

$M\overrightarrow{{\alpha }_{CM}}=\overrightarrow{F_{ext}}$

When,

$\begin{array}{c}\overrightarrow{F_{ext}}=0\\ \overrightarrow{\alpha CM}=0\end{array}$

Thus,

$\overrightarrow{V_{CM}}=cons\tan t$

Hence, The Option $D$ is the correct answer.