A 9536kg boxcar traveling at 6.8m/s strikes a second boxcar at rest. The two stick together and move off with a speed of 5.576m/s. What is the mass of the second car?
momentum is conserved
9536*6.8=(9636+M)5.576 solve for M
To determine the mass of the second boxcar, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum.
The momentum of an object is the product of its mass and velocity. According to the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum before and after the collision should remain the same.
Before the collision, we have the following information:
Mass of the first boxcar (m1): 9536 kg
Velocity of the first boxcar (v1): 6.8 m/s
The second boxcar is at rest, so its velocity (v2) is 0 m/s.
After the collision, the two boxcars stick together and move with a common velocity (v). The final velocity is given as 5.576 m/s.
The total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision:
m1 * v1 + m2 * v2 = (m1 + m2) * v
Substituting the known values:
9536 kg * 6.8 m/s + m2 * 0 m/s = (9536 kg + m2) * 5.576 m/s
Rearranging the equation:
65008.8 + 0 = 53175.136 kg + 5.576 m2
Rearranging again:
m2 = (65008.8 - 53175.136 kg) / 5.576 m/s
Calculating the mass of the second boxcar:
m2 = 11833.664 kg
Therefore, the mass of the second boxcar is approximately 11833.664 kg.