A bomb of mass 16kg at rest, explodes into two pieces of masses 4kg and 12kg. After explosion, the velocity of the 12kg mass is 4m/s. What is the velocity of the 4kg piece?

Given that

m₁= 4kg

m₂= 12kg

v₂= 4m/s

Find out

The velocity of the 4kg piece

Solution

The momentum of the system is remaining conserved as no external force is appearing on the bomb or the system. Initial momentum (before explosion) = Final momentum (after explosion)

Let the velocity of 4 kg mass is v₁ m/s. From momentum conservation, we can say that its direction is opposite to the velocity of 12 kg mass.

From the given data
m₁v₁ = m₂v₂

4(v₁)= 12(4)

4(v₁)=48

v₁= 48/4 = 12 m/s
Answer

Velocity of 4kg piece= 12  m/s.