Force Exerted during Elastic Reflection – Rankers Physics
Topic: Laws of Motion
Subtopic: Equilibrium based Questions

Force Exerted during Elastic Reflection

A 1 kg object strikes a wall with velocity \(1\text{ ms}^{-1}\) at an angle of \(60^\circ\) with the wall and reflects at the same angle. If it remains in contact with wall for 0.1 s, then the force exerted on the wall is
\(10\sqrt{3}\text{ N}\)
\(20\sqrt{3}\text{ N}\)
\(30\sqrt{3}\text{ N}\)
Zero

Solution:

The angle with the normal is \(90^\circ - 60^\circ = 30^\circ\). The change in momentum perpendicular to the wall is \(\Delta p = 2mv\cos(30^\circ) = 2(1)(1)\left(\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right) = \sqrt{3}\text{ kg m s}^{-1}\). Average force \(F = \frac{\Delta p}{\Delta t} = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{0.1} = 10\sqrt{3}\text{ N}\).

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