Solution:

First, calculate the velocity of the lower ball at the collision with the ground. We use the conservation of energy to find the velocity of the bottom ball at impact with the ground. We can equate the change in gravitational potential energy to the change in kinetic energy to find this velocity:

eqnarray6

The following is a proof of why the velocity of the ball after colliding with the ground is equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction, but you don't have to know how to prove it.


OPTIONAL:


The basics is that since the Earth is so massive, that its change in velocity because of the collision is so small that it is negligeable, so the ball gets all the change.

First we use the conservation of momentum to give us one equation which we further simplify:

eqnarray11

Now we use the conservation of energy to get a second equation which we also further simplify:

eqnarray19

We can now replace tex2html_wrap_inline159 of the energy equation with tex2html_wrap_inline161 from the momentum equation:

eqnarray37

Go back to the momentum equation and replace tex2html_wrap_inline163 with tex2html_wrap_inline165 . ( tex2html_wrap_inline167 )

eqnarray50

END OF OPTIONAL PART




Next, calculate the collision between tex2html_wrap_inline157 and tex2html_wrap_inline151 to get the final velocity, tex2html_wrap_inline173 , of tex2html_wrap_inline151 .
( tex2html_wrap_inline155 and tex2html_wrap_inline153 )
The initial velocity of the upper ball in the collision is the same magnitude as the the lower ball becaue they have both fallen the same distance.
We start with the conservation of momentum to get the first equation into which we plug the masses (note that we plug in tex2html_wrap_inline181 for tex2html_wrap_inline183 as was found above) and simplify:

eqnarray63

Now we use the conservation of energy (in this case kinetic) for a second equation into which we also plug the masses and simplify:

eqnarray65

We go back to the equation for tex2html_wrap_inline181 from above and solve for tex2html_wrap_inline187 and plug it into the simplified energy equation:

eqnarray83

Now we have a big mess for simplifying and solving for tex2html_wrap_inline173 .

eqnarray89

Now we can use the quadratic equation to find tex2html_wrap_inline173 :

eqnarray101

The second value is the initial velocity, so the first value of tex2html_wrap_inline193 is the final velocity of tex2html_wrap_inline151 .
From the result of tex2html_wrap_inline173 , obtain the max height of tex2html_wrap_inline151 . We will find out how high above the collision point it goes (z) and then add on its initial height at impact of two times the radius of the lower ball at the end to find the final height above ground that the upper ball gets to (y).

eqnarray117