Two railroad cars, each of mass 7600KG and traveling 85KM/H in opposite directions, collide head-on and come to rest. How much thermal energy is produced in this collision?
thermal energy=kinetic energy=(1/2)(total mass of two railroad cars)(velocity in m/s)^2
To determine the thermal energy produced in the collision between the two railroad cars, we need to calculate the initial kinetic energy of each car and then subtract the final kinetic energy.
The formula for kinetic energy is:
KE = 0.5 * m * v^2
Where:
- KE is the kinetic energy
- m is the mass of the object
- v is the velocity of the object
First, we need to convert the velocity from km/h to m/s:
1 km/h = 1000 m / 3600 s = 5/18 m/s
So, the velocity of each car is 85 km/h * (5/18) m/s = 2125/18 m/s
Now, we can calculate the initial kinetic energy of each car:
KE_initial = 0.5 * m * v^2
For each car:
- Mass (m) = 7600 kg
- Velocity (v) = 2125/18 m/s
KE_initial = 0.5 * 7600 kg * (2125/18 m/s)^2
Calculate the KE_initial for each car.
Since the cars collide head-on and come to rest, their final velocities are both zero. Therefore, the final kinetic energy of each car is zero.
Now, we can calculate the thermal energy produced in the collision:
Thermal energy = KE_initial_car1 + KE_initial_car2
Calculate the Thermal energy produced in the collision.