Abstract

This article provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of an elementary problem in rigid body dynamics, involving a projectile and a rod on a smooth table. The problem presented is an extension of a problem taken from an undergraduate physics textbook. This paper presents some generalisations to the problem, namely the unevenness (non-uniformity) of the rod’s mass distribution, the elasticity of the collision, and the case where the rod is pivoted. This paper presents nice analytical steps that address some misconceptions in students’ way of thinking as well as the failure of intuition when it comes to solving physics problems which necessarily require mathematical approach. The result is quite surprising and counterintuitive as it goes against our intuition with daily experience involving doors and levers.

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