Physics in Football

Question

In the sun devil football game, a receiver, who is standing still, has caught a pass from the quarterback. Before he can move, a tackler, running at a velocity of +6.89 m/s, grabs him. The tackler holds onto the receiver, and the two head off with a velocity of +4.78 m/s. The mass of the tackler is 156 kg. Ignoring any frictional forces, what is the mass of the receiver?

Answer 1

Use the following conservation of momentum equation 156•6.89 = (156 + m_r)•4.78 and solve for m_r. So 4.78 m_r =156(6.89- 4.78) kg and m_r =156• 2.11/4.78 = 68.86 kg.