A ball of mass in collides horizontally with a stationary wedge on a rough horizontal surface, in the two orientations as shown. Neglect friction between the ball and the wedge. The students comment on the system of ball and wedge in these situations
Saurav: Momentum of the system in `x`-direction will change by significant amount in both the cases. Rahul: There are no impulsive external forces in `x`-direction in both cases, hence the total momentum of the system in `x`-direction can be treated as conserved in both cases.

Options

A. Saurav is incorrect and Rahul is correct
B. Saurav is correct and Rahul is incorrect
C. Both are correct
D. Both are incorrect

Answer

D

Explanation

In case I there is no horizontal, external impulse on the ball and mass system while in case II friction is impulseive as normal with ground is impulsive. Hence, both statements are incorrect.