As shown in the figure below, cars #1 and #2 are sliding across a horizontal fri

Question

As shown in the figure below, cars #1 and #2 are sliding across a horizontal frictionless surface. The cars are equipped with a coupling arrangement similar to the one on railroad cars. Car #1 overtakes car #2 and they have a totally inelastic collision and become coupled together. You know the mass of each car;

m1 = 18.0 kg

and

m2 = 46.0 kg.

In addition, you are provided with the following graph, which shows the momentum of car #1 before, during and after the collision. Determine the velocity of car #2 before the collision.

Explanation / Answer

From the law of conservation of momentum, the initial momentum is equal to final momentum.

[100 kg.m/s] + [46 kg] * v = 40 kg.m/s + 46 kg * [(40 kg.m/s) / (18 kg)]

Hence, the velocity of the car 2 is, v = 0.917 m/s

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