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title: "A stationary projectile of mass \\(4m\\) located at the origin of an \\(xy\\)-coordinate plane detonates and splits into four identical fragments, each of mass \\(m\\). Immediately following the detonation, the four fragments travel outward in the \\(xy\\)-plane with equal speeds \\(v\\): fragment 1 moves at an angle of \\(45^\\circ\\) above the \\(+x\\)-axis, fragment 2 moves at \\(45^\\circ\\) above the \\(-x\\)-axis, fragment 3 moves at \\(45^\\circ\\) below the \\(-x\\)-axis, and fragment 4 moves at \\(45^\\circ\\) below the \\(+x\\)-axis. Which of the following vector diagrams best represents the individual momentum vectors \\(\\vec{p}_1\\) and \\(\\vec{p}_2\\) of fragments 1 and 2, and the net impulse \\(\\vec{J}\\) exerted on the two-fragment system consisting of fragments 1 and 2 during the detonation?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/124408/"
date_modified: "2026-09-28T14:05:13+00:00"
---

# A stationary projectile of mass \(4m\) located at the origin of an \(xy\)-coordinate plane detonates and splits into four identical fragments, each of mass \(m\). Immediately following the detonation, the four fragments travel outward in the \(xy\)-plane with equal speeds \(v\): fragment 1 moves at an angle of \(45^\circ\) above the \(+x\)-axis, fragment 2 moves at \(45^\circ\) above the \(-x\)-axis, fragment 3 moves at \(45^\circ\) below the \(-x\)-axis, and fragment 4 moves at \(45^\circ\) below the \(+x\)-axis. Which of the following vector diagrams best represents the individual momentum vectors \(\vec{p}_1\) and \(\vec{p}_2\) of fragments 1 and 2, and the net impulse \(\vec{J}\) exerted on the two-fragment system consisting of fragments 1 and 2 during the detonation?

A stationary projectile of mass \(4m\) located at the origin of an \(xy\)-coordinate plane detonates and splits into four identical fragments, each of mass \(m\). Immediately following the detonation, the four fragments travel outward in the \(xy\)-plane with equal speeds \(v\): fragment 1 moves at an angle of \(45^\circ\) above the \(+x\)-axis, fragment 2 moves at \(45^\circ\) above the \(-x\)-axis, fragment 3 moves at \(45^\circ\) below the \(-x\)-axis, and fragment 4 moves at \(45^\circ\) below the \(+x\)-axis. Which of the following vector diagrams best represents the individual momentum vectors \(\vec{p}_1\) and \(\vec{p}_2\) of fragments 1 and 2, and the net impulse \(\vec{J}\) exerted on the two-fragment system consisting of fragments 1 and 2 during the detonation?

![A Cartesian coordinate plane with horizontal x-axis and vertical y-axis intersecting at an origin labeled O. At the origin, a small open circle marks the initial location. Four identical small solid gray circular dots representing fragments are positioned symmetrically at equal distances from the origin in each quadrant. From each dot, a solid black arrow points outward away from the origin along a line making a 45-degree angle with the axes. The arrow in the first quadrant is labeled \(\vec{v}_1\), the arrow in the second quadrant is labeled \(\vec{v}_2\), the arrow in the third quadrant is labeled \(\vec{v}_3\), and the arrow in the fourth quadrant is labeled \(\vec{v}_4\). Each of the four dots is labeled with mass m. Thin dashed reference lines extend from the origin through each dot along the 45-degree diagonals. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-diag-1-1790604311-FqGnJ6.jpg)

- **A.** Diagram A
- **B.** Diagram B
- **C.** Diagram C
- **D.** Diagram D

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/124408/*