Two railroad cars, each of mass 6500kg and traveling 95km/h, collide head-on and come to rest. How much thermal energy is produced in this collision?
determine the initial Kinetic energy of each, and add. All that must be converted into heat, since the cars are at rest in the end, right?
yes b/c all energy is turned into heat, but what equation should i use?
m*V^2, remember to convert 95km/h to m/s
To determine the amount of thermal energy produced in this collision, we need to use the principles of conservation of momentum and conservation of kinetic energy.
First, let's calculate the initial kinetic energy of each train car.
The formula for kinetic energy is:
Kinetic energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity squared
For each train car:
Mass = 6500 kg
Velocity = 95 km/h = 26.39 m/s (convert km/h to m/s by dividing by 3.6)
Kinetic energy of one train car = 1/2 * 6500 kg * (26.39 m/s)^2
Next, since the two train cars collide head-on and come to rest, the total final kinetic energy is zero. According to the conservation of kinetic energy, the initial kinetic energy must equal the final thermal energy produced.
Therefore, the total thermal energy produced in this collision is the sum of the initial kinetic energies of both train cars.
Total thermal energy produced = 2 * [1/2 * 6500 kg * (26.39 m/s)^2]
Now, let's calculate:
Mass = 6500 kg
Velocity = 26.39 m/s
Thermal energy produced = 2 * [1/2 * 6500 kg * (26.39 m/s)^2]
By calculating this expression, we can determine the amount of thermal energy produced in the collision.