A polar bear of mass 999.9 kg lies sleeping on a horizontal sheet of ice. A hunter fires a 0.10-kg bullet at the bear with speed 1000 m/s.

1. How fast does the bear (with the bullet embedded in his belly) slide after being hit?
2. A polar bear with mass 990 kg wears a 10 kg bulletproof vest, and is hit by the same hunter. In this case, the bullet bounces straight back with negligible change in speed. How fast does the bear slide, after being hit?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

For the first scenario where the bullet becomes embedded in the bear First we can calculate the init... View the full answer