Question

3. A 0.200 kg air-track glider moving at 1.20 m/s bumps into a 0.600 kg glider at rest.

a.) Find the total kinetic energy after collision if the collision is elastic.
b.) Find the total kinetic energy after collision if the collision is completely inelastic.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

0.036 Joules

Explanation:

Glider A mass = 0.200 kg

Glider B mass = 0.600 kg

vAi = 1.20 m/s

vBi = 0 m/s

Ptotal,initial = (0.2)(1.2) + (0.6)(0) = 0.240 m/s

Rearranged equation of Ptotal,final to find the final velocity:

vfinal = Ptotal,initial/(mA + mB)

vfinal = 0.240/(0.2 + 0.6) = 0.300 m/s

This collision is inelastic since the total momentum is the same before and after. The momentum is conserved.

Ktotal,initial = ½(mA)(vAi2) + ½(mB)(vBi2)

Ktotal,initial = ½(0.2)(1.22) + ½(0.6)(0) = 0.144 Joules

Ktotal,final = ½(mA + mB)(vfinal2)

Ktotal,final = ½(0.2 + 0.6)(0.32) = ½(0.8)(0.09) = 0.036 Joules

∆K = Ktotal,initial – Ktotal,final = 0.144 J – 0.036 J = 0.108 Joules

So the amount of kinetic energy lost is 0.108 J, however the total kinetic energy after the inelastic collision is 0.036 Joules.

(Hope you guys can read that. I just copied and pasted it off my assignment lol)