A toy freigh traim car of mass 50kg collides with a stationary empty car of mass 15kg while moving 5m/s.at the collisiom the cars couple together.what is the final velocity of the moving pair?
Answer (1)
To solve this problem, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. The total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision.Initial momentum:m1 = 50 kg (mass of the moving car)v1 = 5 m/s (velocity of the moving car)m2 = 15 kg (mass of the stationary car)v2 = 0 m/s (velocity of the stationary car)Initial momentum = m1 × v1 + m2 × v2= 50 kg × 5 m/s + 15 kg × 0 m/s= 250 kg·m/sAfter the collision, the two cars couple together, so we can treat them as a single object with a mass of:m_total = m1 + m2= 50 kg + 15 kg= 65 kgLet's call the final velocity of the moving pair "v_final". We can set up the equation:Initial momentum = Final momentum250 kg·m/s = m_total × v_final250 kg·m/s = 65 kg × v_finalNow, we can solve for v_final:v_final = 250 kg·m/s ÷ 65 kg= 3.85 m/sThe final answer is:3.85 m/s
