As shown cars #1 and #2 are sliding across a horizontal frictionless surface. Th
ID: 1602337 • Letter: A
Question
As shown 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 cat m_1 = 18.0 kg and m_2 = 43.0 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
before collision
momentum of car#1 P1i = 100 kg m/s
momentum of car#2 P2i = m2*v2i
total momentum of the system Pi = P1i + P2i
after collision both the cars have same speed
P1f = m1*v1f = 40 kg m/s
v1f = (40/18) = 2.22 m/s
final momentum of the system Pf = 40 + (m2*v1f) = 40+(43*2.22) = 135.46 kg m/s
from momentum conservation Pf = Pi
135.46 = 100 + (43*v2i)
v2i = 0.824 m/s
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