A ball of mass 2 kg moves at 3 m/s and a ball of mass 3 kg moves at 2 m/s toward each other on a frictionless horizontal surface. They collide head-on elastically. Find the maximum potential energy of deformation during the collision.

0 J
12 J
12.5 J
15 J

Correct answer: 12 J

Solution

At maximum compression both balls move with the centre-of-mass velocity, and all the kinetic energy in the centre-of-mass frame converts to deformation energy. Using reduced mass and relative velocity gives the answer.

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