Question

A North-going Zak has a mass of 50 kg and is traveling at 4 m/s. A South -going Zak has a mass of 40 kg and is traveling at 5 m/s. If they have a perfectly inelastic collision, what is their final velocity? What are the initial and final total kinetic energies?

Answer 1

The initial total kinetic energy of the system is 800 J, and the final total kinetic energy of the system is 23.1 J. The difference in kinetic energy is due to the fact that the collision is not perfectly elastic.