Question

Object 1 has a mass of 3m and is moving to the right at a velocity of

4v. Object 2 has a mass of m is moving to the left at v. After the objects collide inelastically, object A is moving to the left at a velocity of v (one third of its original velocity). Derive an expression for the final velocity V of object B.

I am confused because I thought the when it is an inelastic equation, then that means that the objects stick together. So how can you find the final velocity of object B (also it shows that after the collision, the two objects to in fact split apart)?

Answer 1

In a collision, the velocity change is always computed by subtracting the initial velocity value from the final velocity value. If an object is moving in one direction before a collision and rebounds or somehow changes direction, then its velocity after the collision has the opposite direction as before.