Question

Bumper car A (281 kg) moving at 2.82 m/s makes an elastic collision with bumper car B (209 kg) moving at 1.72 m/s. What is the velocity of car B after the collision?

a) 0.61 m/s
b) 2.11 m/s
c) 4.54 m/s
d) 3.03 m/s

Answer 1

The velocity of car B after the elastic collision is approximately 2.11 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

In an elastic collision between two objects, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. To calculate the velocity of Car B after the collision, we can use the conservation of momentum equation:

mAvAi + mBvBi = mAvAf + mBvBf

where mA and mB are the masses of car A and car B, vAi and vBi are their initial velocities, and vAf and vBf are their final velocities. Plugging in the given values:

(281 kg)(2.82 m/s) + (209 kg)(1.72 m/s) = (281 kg)vAf + (209 kg)vBf

Solving for vBf, we find that car B's velocity after the collision is approximately 2.11 m/s.