Question

An 950 kg sports car slows to 12 m/s to check out the scene of an accident. A 1800 kg truck moving at 20 m/s rear-ends the sports car. If the two automobiles lock bumpers, what will their combined velocity be after the collision?

Answer 1

17.24 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

Let’s denote the combined velocity of the sports car and the truck after the collision as v. The initial momentum of the system is given by the sum of the momenta of the sports car and the truck: (950 kg) * (12 m/s) + (1800 kg) * (20 m/s). The final momentum of the system is given by the momentum of the combined mass of the sports car and the truck moving at velocity v: (950 kg + 1800 kg) * v.

By the principle of conservation of momentum, the initial and final momenta of the system must be equal. Therefore, we have:

(950 kg) * (12 m/s) + (1800 kg) * (20 m/s) = (950 kg + 1800 kg) * v

Solving for v, we find that:

v = [(950 kg) * (12 m/s) + (1800 kg) * (20 m/s)] / (950 kg + 1800 kg)

v ≈ 17.24 m/s

So the combined velocity of the sports car and the truck after the collision is approximately 17.24 m/s.