Question

A hammer of mass 500 g, moving at 50 m s⁻¹, strikes a nail. The nail stops the hammer in a very short time of 0.01 s. What is the force of the nail on the hammer?

Answer 1

Mass of the hammer, m = 500 g = 0.5 kg

Initial velocity of the hammer, u = 50 m/s

Time taken by the nail to the stop the hammer, t = 0.01 s

Velocity of the hammer, v = 0 (since the hammer finally comes to rest)

From Newton’s second law of motion:

The hammer strikes the nail with a force of −2500 N. Hence, from Newton’s third law of motion, the force of the nail on the hammer is equal and opposite, i.e., +2500 N.