A ball of mass 50 g travelling at a speed of 2.0 m/s strikes a plane surface at an angle of incidence 45^ . The ball is reflected by the plane at an equal angle of reflection with the same speed. Determine the change in the magnitude of the momentum of the ball.

Step-by-step solution

Mass of the ball, m = 50 g = 0.05 kg Initial speed of the ball, v_i = 2.0 m/s Final speed of the ball, v_f = 2.0 m/s The magnitude of the initial momentum is: | p _i| = m v_i = 0.05 2.0 = 0.10 kg-m/s The magnitude of the final momentum is: | p _f| = m v_f = 0.05 2.0 = 0.10 kg-m/s The change in the magnitude of the momentum is the difference between the final and initial magnitudes of momentum: | p | = | p _f| - | p _i| = 0.10 - 0.10 = 0 kg-m/s