Two trains approach one another. Train A has a mass of 500,00 kg and is moving at 34.0 m/s. Train B has a mass of 350,00 kg and is moving at 42 m/s. They collide and stick together. What is the velocity and direction of the combined masses
A has a mass of 500,00 (I assume you mean 500,000)
A moves east, positive direction
B moved west, negative
Initial momentum east
= 500, 000 *34 - 350,000 * 42
= 170*10^5 - 147*10^5 = 23*10^5
that will be the final too
final mass = 5+3.5 = 8.5*10^5
so
8.5*10^5 V = 23*10^5
V = + 2.71 east
what about a 5,000 kg truck rear-ends a 1200 kg car that has been traveling at 13 m/s, causing the truck to slow down and the car to speed up. What is the final velocity?
Final velocity of the car that is
I do not know.
Questions:
initial velocity of truck?
do they stick together?
angie, post your own questions, hanging on the tail of other questions wont work.
wondering which one has been traveling at 13m/s? One can't assume conservation of energy here.
reposted- sorry for the confusion and thanks of the help
To find the velocity and direction of the combined masses after the collision, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. According to this principle, the total momentum before the collision should be equal to the total momentum after the collision.
Momentum (p) is calculated by multiplying the mass (m) of an object by its velocity (v). Mathematically, it can be represented as p = m * v.
Let's denote the velocity and direction of the combined masses after the collision as V_final and assume it moves in the positive direction.
The total momentum before the collision is the sum of the individual momenta of trains A and B:
p_initial = (mass of A * velocity of A) + (mass of B * velocity of B)
= (500,000 kg * 34.0 m/s) + (350,000 kg * 42 m/s)
Now, since the trains collide and stick together, their masses are combined, and the resulting mass is the sum of the masses of A and B:
mass_combined = mass of A + mass of B
= 500,000 kg + 350,000 kg
The total momentum after the collision is the product of the combined mass and the final velocity of the combined masses:
p_final = mass_combined * V_final
Using the principle of conservation of momentum, we can equate the initial momentum to the final momentum:
p_initial = p_final
(500,000 kg * 34.0 m/s) + (350,000 kg * 42 m/s) = mass_combined * V_final
Now, we can solve this equation to find the velocity of the combined masses:
V_final = [(500,000 kg * 34.0 m/s) + (350,000 kg * 42 m/s)] / (500,000 kg + 350,000 kg)
By calculating this expression, we can determine the velocity (magnitude and direction) of the combined masses after the collision.