A 2285 kg freight train, coasting at 13 m/s, strikes a stationary 2465 kg box car. Determine the "CHANGE IN VELOCITY" for the freight train if the freight train and the box car couple together.
so use the final momentum is the same as the initial momentum. I can check your work.
Good grief. Please do not ask us if you have not read the chapter on Newton's first law.
I haven't heard or read the words "Good grief" in a long time.Lol Also Damon has a point. -.-
To determine the change in velocity for the freight train when it couples with the box car, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum.
The principle of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of an isolated system remains constant before and after a collision or interaction, provided that no external forces act on the system.
In this case, the initial momentum of the freight train is given by the product of its mass and velocity:
Initial momentum of freight train = mass of freight train * velocity of freight train
= 2285 kg * 13 m/s
= 29705 kg·m/s
The initial momentum of the box car is zero because it is stationary.
After the collision, the freight car and the box car couple together and move with a common velocity. Let's denote this velocity as v (which is the change in velocity we want to find).
The final momentum of the coupled system is given by the product of the total mass of the system and the common velocity:
Final momentum of the coupled system = (mass of freight train + mass of box car) * v
= (2285 kg + 2465 kg) * v
= 4750 kg * v
According to the conservation of momentum, the total initial momentum must be equal to the total final momentum. Therefore, we can equate the two expressions:
29705 kg·m/s = 4750 kg * v
To find v, we can rearrange the equation:
v = 29705 kg·m/s / 4750 kg
v ≈ 6.25 m/s
Therefore, the change in velocity for the freight train when it couples with the box car is approximately 6.25 m/s.