Question

A stone of mass 0.15 kg is fired from a catapult. The velocity of the stone changes from 0 to 4.0 m/s in 0.50 s. What is the average resultant force acting on the stone while it is being fired?

Answer 1

We can find the average resultant force acting on the stone while it is being fired from the impluse-momentum change equation:

$$F\Delta t=m\Delta v,$$ $$F=\dfrac{m\Delta v}{\Delta t},$$ $$F=\dfrac{0.15\ kg\cdot(4.0\ \dfrac{m}{s}-0\ \dfrac{m}{s})}{0.50\ s}=1.2\ N.$$

Answer:

$F=1.2\ N.$