Science answer need asap

Question

A bowling ball and a target bale of hay both have a mass of 3.44 kg. The bowling ball is moving 4.50 m/s when it collides with the stationary target hay. Explain what happens next. (This needs to include a numerical answer.)

Answer 1

M1V1+M2V2=(M1+M2)vf so 3.44Kg x 4.5m/s + 3.44Kg x 0m/s=(3.44Kg + 3.44Kg)vf

So, the initial momentum on the left side of this equation is 15.48Kg * m/s, which also means the final momentum after the collision must be 15.48Kg * m/s because P1(initial momentum)=P2(final momentum). Momentum is conserved in all collisions whether it is elastic or inelastic. This is an example of an inelastic collision and the only unknown variable in the equation is vf or final velocity. So when you solve the equation for vf you get 15.48Kg * m/s=(3.44 Kg + 3.44 Kg)vf or 15.48Kg * m/s=(6.88Kg)vf. Divide each side by 6.88 to get vf by itself and you get a vf=15.48 Kg * m/s / 6.88 Kg which equals a vf of 2.25 m/s. This answer makes sense because if you sub 2.25 m/s in for vf on the right side of the equation at the top, you get a P2 or final momentum of 15.48 Kg * m/s which is the same value as the initial momentum.

In summary, when the bowling ball and hay collided, since they both had the same mass, the mass of the bowling ball/hay system, doubled. When this happened, in order for momentum to be conserved, their velocity after the collision would go down by 2 times or be halved in order for the P1 and P2 to remain the same after the collision. The friction from the road will eventually cause them to come to a stop, but immediately after the collision the velocity of the bowling ball/hay system would be 2.25 m/s.

P1 (initial momentum)= P2 (final momentum)

3.44Kg x 4.5m/s + 3.44Kg x 0m/s=(3.44Kg + 3.44Kg)2.25 m/s

15.48 Kg * m/s=15.48 Kg * m/s