A novice marksman fires a rifle while holding the butt of the rifle a couple of centimeters away from his shoulder. Explain what happens in terms of the physical principles involved
What will be an ideal response?
The initial momentum of the bullet/gun system was zero kg?m/s, so after firing the rifle the forward momentum of the bullet is equal and opposite to the backward momentum of the rifle alone. The rifle kicks back and hits the marksman on the shoulder with sufficient speed to cause a bruise. An expert marksman would hold the rifle tight against the shoulder. The recoil then involves both the mass of the rifle and the mass of the upper part of the body of the marksman.
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