At the circus, a 100.-kilogram clown is fired at 15 meters per second from a 500.- kilogram cannon. what is the recoil speed of the cannon?
(1) 75 m/s
(3) 3.0 m/s
(2) 15 m/s
(4) 5.0 m/s

answer this quickly i'm dying

The recoil speed of the cannon is 3.0 m/s. And option (3) is correct.

Given data:

The mass of clown is, M = 100 kg.

The speed of firing is, u = 15 m/s.

The mass of cannon is, m = 500 kg.

This problem follows the law of conservation of momentum, which says that the momentum of the two bodies must be equal in magnitude, such that the velocity of the bodies haves opposite direction.

Then,

Momentum of clown = Momentum of cannon

Mu = mv

here, v is the recoil speed of cannon.

Solving as,

100 (15) = 500 (v)

v = 3 m/s

Thus, we can conclude that the recoil speed of the cannon is 3.0 m/s. And option (3) is correct.

Learn more about the law of conservation of momentum here:

link

(3) 3.0 m/s

Explanation:

Data:

clown mass, m1 = 100 kg

cannon mass, m2 = 500 kg

clown speed, v1 = 15 m/s

cannon speed, v2 = ?

From the law of conservation of momentum, the momentum of the two bodies must be equal in magnitude, notice that the velocity of the bodies have opposite directions. Therefore, the magnitude of momentum is computed as follows:

m1*v1 = m2*v2

100*15 = 500*v2

v2 = 100*15/500

v2 = 3 m/s

the device is called “ rocket engine”