Question

A 0.5 kg cart moving at 4 m/s crashes into a 1.5 kg cart at rest. The two carts end up stuck together. What is the speed of the two carts after the collision?

Answer 1

The final speed of the two carts is 1 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

let m = 0.5 kg being the mass of the cart moving at an intial speed of v = 4 m/s and M = 1.5 kg is the mass of the cart at rest V = 0 m/s.

then by conservation of linear momentum, the final speed of the objects Vf is:

m×v + M×V = Vf×(M + m)

Vf = [m×v + M×V]/(M + m)

Vf = [(0.5 kg)×(4 m/s) + (1.5 kg)×(0 m/s)]/(1.5 + 0.5 kg)

= 1 m/s

Therefore, the final speed of the two carts is 1 m/s.