Pool ball collision

Pool ball collision#

In a game of pool, the white cue ball is shot in a straight line towards a stationary black ball with speed \(u_1\).

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Part 1#

If the oblique collision is deemed perfectly elastic, what is the angle \(\theta\) with which each ball is deflected relative to each other?
Treat the two balls as particles having the same mass and neglect any resistive forces.

Answer Section#

Please enter the angle in \(\circ\).

Part 2#

If the black ball leaves the collision at an angle \(\alpha\) measured from below the horizontal, what is the speed of the black ball after the collision?
\(u_1 = {{ params.u }}\ \rm{m/s}\) , \(\alpha = {{ params.a }}^{\circ}\)

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Answer Section#

Please enter the speed of the black ball in \(\rm{m/s}\).

Part 3#

What is the speed of the white cue ball after the collision?

Answer Section#

Please enter the speed of the white cue ball in \(\rm{m/s}\).

Part 4#

If the final direction of one of the balls was undetermined, using the principles of conservation of momentum and energy, can the speeds of the two balls leaving the collision be determined?

Answer Section#

  • False

  • True

Attribution#

Problem is licensed under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
The Creative Commons 4.0 license requiring attribution-BY, non-commercial-NC, and share-alike-SA license.