Question

A bullet of mass 5 g is shot from a gun of mass 5 kg. The muzzle velocity of the bullet is 500 m/s. The recoil velocity of the gun is

• A. 0.5 m/s
• B. 0.25 m/s
• C. 1 m/s
• D. Data is insufficient

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

0.5 m/s

Answer 2

By the conservation of linear momentum $m_{B}v_{B} = m_{a}v_{a}$

⇒$v_{G} = \frac{m_{B} \times v_{B}}{m_{G}} = \frac{5 \times 10^{- 3} \times 500}{5} = 0.5\mspace{6mu} m/s$