In Challenge Example 11.9 (p. 280), after the explosion, suppose that the m1 fragment shot directly north at 12 m/s and the m3 fragment shot directly south at 9 m/s. What would be the x-component of the velocity of the m2 fragment after the explosion

The question is incomplete. The mass of the object is 10 gram and travelling at a speed of 2 m/s.

Solution:

It is given that mass of object before explosion is,m = 10 g

Speed of object before explosion, v = 2 m/s

Let be the masses of the three fragments.

Let be the velocities of the three fragments.

Therefore, according to the law of conservation of momentum,

So the x- component of the velocity of the m2 fragment after the explosion is,

∴

it should be -8.6 cm hope this out