Question

Two cars collide inelastically and stick together after the collision. Before the collision, the magnitudes of their momenta are P1 and P2 . After the collision, what is the magnitude of their combined momentum?

a) P1+P2
b) P1-P2
c) P2-P1
d) (P1P2)^(1/2)
e) (1/2)(P1+P2)
f) (P1+P2)^(1/2)

Answer 1

a) P1+P2

Step-by-step explanation:

The magnitude of their combined momentum is just the addition of each momentum, because in this case of inelastic collision, the kinetic energy of the two cars are both converted to some form of energy because the velocity of both cars becomes zero, i.e., V=0, making P = mv = 0, this means the magnitude of P1 + P2 = 0.