Could an elephant have the same momentum as a golf ball?

Answer 1

Yes.

The mass of a golf ball is about 45 gms, or 0.045 kg. For the sake of discussion, I will choose an elephant that has mass of 4500 kg. That is #10^5# times the mass of the golf ball.
Imagine the golf ball was given a speed of #70 m/s#. For the elephant to be walking and have the same momentum as the golf ball, it has to have velocity that is #10^-5# times that of the golf ball.
So the elephant must be going #70xx10^-5 m/s#. At that rate it would take about 23 minutes to go 1 m. Could happen I suppose, but I have a better idea. If the elephant shifts its trunk a bit, its center of mass would change. It is hot hard to imaging it giving its trunk a leisurely wave such that it briefly has momentum equal to a flying golf ball.

Hope this is helpful, Steve.

Sign up to view the whole answer

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Sign up with email
Answer 2

Yes, an elephant could have the same momentum as a golf ball if it were traveling at a much slower speed compared to the golf ball. Momentum depends on both mass and velocity, so while an elephant has much greater mass than a golf ball, it would need to be moving at a significantly slower speed to have the same momentum.

Sign up to view the whole answer

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Sign up with email
Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

Not the question you need?

Drag image here or click to upload

Or press Ctrl + V to paste
Answer Background
HIX Tutor
Solve ANY homework problem with a smart AI
  • 98% accuracy study help
  • Covers math, physics, chemistry, biology, and more
  • Step-by-step, in-depth guides
  • Readily available 24/7