Question
A firework with a mass of 1.5 kg shoots up into the air with a velocity of 25m/s . It then explodes . Use this information to work out the total momentum I of all the pieces after the firework explodes.
Answer
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Cecilia
Professional · Tutor for 6 years
Answer
The total momentum of all the pieces after the firework explodes is the same as the initial momentum before the explosion, which equals
.
Explanation
Momentum, in physics, is defined as the product of mass and velocity of an object. The total momentum of an isolated system of objects is constant. These statements are also known as the Law of Conservation of Momentum, which is central to Newtonian physics. In this problem, a firework of mass 1.5 kg is launched upward with a velocity of 25 m/s. The system at this point is the firework itself. The law of conservation momentum tells us that the momentum before and after the explosion should be the same because there are no external forces acting on it. Calculating pre-explosion momentum:```Pythonmass = 1.5 # in kginitial_velocity = 25 # in m/sec.momentum = mass * initial_velocity ```Therefore, the total momentum of all the pieces after the firework explodes would be equal to momentum calculated above which shows the conservation of linear momentum.