A bullet of mass is fired from a gun of mass .

If the gun can recoil freely and the muzzle

velocity of the bullet (velocity relative to the gun as it leaves the barrel) is 0 , show that the actual
velocity of the bullet relative to the ground is 0 (1 + ) and the recoil velocity for the gun is
0 (1 + ), where = .

Sol)

Let the speed of the recoiled gun relative to the ground be . Then the speed of the fired bullet
relative to the ground is 0 + . By the conservation of momentum, + (0 + ) = 0.
0 0 0
= = =
( + ) 1 + 1 +

0 0
0 + = 0 + =
1+ 1+