A car with a mass of 1,350 kg travels at 2.28 m/s and bumps into a stopped car with a mass of 1,200 kg.
After the collision, the two cars stick together and move forward. How fast will they both move forward? Round your answer to two decimal places.
To solve for the final velocity of the combined cars after the collision, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. The momentum before the collision is equal to the momentum after the collision.
The momentum before the collision can be calculated as the product of the mass and velocity of the first car, plus the product of the mass and velocity of the second car.
Momentum before = (mass of first car * velocity of first car) + (mass of second car * velocity of second car)
= (1,350 kg * 2.28 m/s) + (1,200 kg * 0 m/s)
= 3,078 kg*m/s
Since the two cars stick together and move forward after the collision, their masses can be combined into a single mass. The final velocity of the combined cars can be calculated by dividing the total momentum after the collision by the total mass.
Momentum after = (mass of combined cars * velocity of combined cars)
3,078 kg*m/s = (mass of combined cars * velocity of combined cars)
To find the final velocity of the combined cars, we can divide both sides of the equation by the mass of the combined cars.
Velocity of combined cars = Momentum after / mass of combined cars
= 3,078 kg*m/s / (1,350 kg + 1,200 kg)
= 3,078 kg*m/s / 2,550 kg
Rounding to two decimal places, the final velocity of the combined cars after the collision will be approximately:
Velocity of combined cars = 1.21 m/s