A hammer of mass 500 g, moving at 50 m s-1 strikes a nail. The nail stops the hammer in a very short time of 0.01 s. What is the force of the nail on the hammer?


Given,

Mass, m = 500 g


= kg


= 0.5 kg


Initial velocity, u = 50 m/s


Final velocity, v = 0 (As the hammer stops)


Acceleration, a =?


Time, t = 0.01 s


We know that,


v = u + at


0 = 50 + a × 0.01


0.01 a = - 50


a = -


= - 5000 m/s2


We know that:


Force, F = m × a


F = 0.5 × (- 5000)


= - 2500 N


Here, the negative sign indicated that this force is opposing motion.


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