Final answer:
The mass of Cadillac x velocity of Cadillac before collision = (mass of Cadillac + mass of Volkswagen) x velocity of combined vehicles after collision .To bring the rolling Cadillac to a halt and save the children, you should impact the Cadillac at a speed of 0.67 m/s.
Step-by-step explanation:
To bring the rolling Cadillac to a halt, you would need to determine the speed at which your Volkswagen should impact it.
This can be done by using the principle of conservation of momentum.
Since the Cadillac has a mass of 2000 kg and is rolling at 3.00 mph, we first convert its speed to meters per second: 3.00 mph = 1.34 m/s.
To calculate the required impact speed, we need to set up an equation using the momentum of the Cadillac before and after the collision:
momentum before collision = momentum after collision
This equation can be written as:
mass of Cadillac x velocity of Cadillac before collision = (mass of Cadillac + mass of Volkswagen) x velocity of combined vehicles after collision
Plugging in the known values, we get:
2000 kg x 1.34 m/s = (2000 kg + 2000 kg) x final velocity of combined vehicles
Simplifying the equation, we solve for the final velocity:
final velocity = (2000 kg x 1.34 m/s) / (2000 kg + 2000 kg)
Simplifying further, we get:
final velocity = 1.34 m/s / 2
final velocity = 0.67 m/s
Therefore, you should impact the Cadillac at a speed of 0.67 m/s in order to bring it to a halt and save the children.