Edexcel M4 2015 June — Question 3

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM4 (Mechanics 4)
Year2015
SessionJune
TopicMomentum and Collisions 2

3. \begin{figure}[h]
\includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{44066c44-e366-4f87-b1b2-c5a894e407fa-08_350_1123_258_408} \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Figure 1}
\end{figure} Two smooth uniform spheres \(A\) and \(B\) with equal radii have masses \(m\) and \(2 m\) respectively. The spheres are moving in opposite directions on a smooth horizontal surface and collide obliquely. Immediately before the collision, \(A\) has speed \(3 u\) with its direction of motion at an angle \(\theta\) to the line of centres, and \(B\) has speed \(u\) with its direction of motion at an angle \(\theta\) to the line of centres, as shown in Figure 1. The coefficient of restitution between the spheres is \(\frac { 1 } { 8 }\) Immediately after the collision, the speed of \(A\) is twice the speed of \(B\).
Find the size of the angle \(\theta\).