A machine gun with a mass of 5kg fires a 50g bu... - JAMB Physics 2020 Question
A machine gun with a mass of 5kg fires a 50g bullet at a speed of 100 ms\(^{-1}\). The recoil speed of the machine gun is
A
0.5 ms\(^{-1}\)
B
1.5 ms\(^{-1}\)
C
1 ms\(^{-1}\)
D
2ms\(^-1\)
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Correct Option: C
The principle of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant. In this case, the system is the machine gun and the bullet. Initially, the system is at rest, so the total momentum is zero. After the bullet is fired, the momentum of the bullet is equal and opposite to the momentum of the machine gun (recoil).
Here's how to solve the problem:
-
Convert units:
- Bullet mass: 50g = 0.05 kg
-
Apply conservation of momentum:
- Momentum before = Momentum after
- 0 = (mass of bullet * velocity of bullet) + (mass of gun * velocity of gun)
- 0 = (0.05 kg *
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