Question

If you have two cars 100m apart, and Car1 accelerates towards the other at 1.8m/s^2 while Car2 accelerates towards Car1 at 2.6 m/s^2, what is the velocity of both of the cars just before they collide?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

We want to calculate the final velocities of the cars after traveling a combined distance of 100m. Since the cars started from rest. It means that their initial velocities is 0.

We would apply the Newton's formula of motion below

v^2 = u^2 + 2as

where

v is the final velocity of the car

u is the initial velocity of the car

s is the distance travelled by the car

a is the acceleration of the car

Let s1 be the distance travelled by car 1

Let s2 be the distance travelled by car 2

From the information given, both cars were 100m apart. It means that

s1 + s2 = 100

Considering car 1,

a = 1.8

u = 0

v = ?

Thus,

v^2 = 0^2 + 2 x 1.8 x s1

v^2 = 3.6s1

Considering car 1,

a = 2.6

u = 0

v = ?

Thus,

v^2 = 0^2 + 2 x 2.6 x s2

v^2 = 5.2s2