A 1500 kg car traveling at 16.0 m/s to the

south collides with a 5100 kg truck that is
initially at rest at a stoplight. The car and
truck stick together and move together after
the collision.
What is the final velocity of the two-vehicle
mass?
Answer in units of m/s

The direction of the car&truck, stuck together, remains south.

For the final speed Vf, use the conservation of momentum law

Initial momentum = Final momentum
1500*16.0 = 6600*Vf

Vf = 3.63 m/s

thank you.

To find the final velocity of the two-vehicle mass, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. According to this principle, the total momentum before a collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision, assuming no external forces are acting.

The momentum of an object can be calculated by multiplying its mass and velocity. In this case, the momentum of the car before the collision is given by:

Momentum of car before collision = mass of car × velocity of car

Similarly, the initial momentum of the truck is zero since it is at rest initially:

Momentum of truck before collision = mass of truck × velocity of truck
= 5100 kg × 0 m/s
= 0 kg m/s

The total initial momentum before the collision is the sum of the momenta of the car and the truck:

Total initial momentum = Momentum of car before collision + Momentum of truck before collision

Since the two vehicles stick together and move together after the collision, their combined mass is the sum of the individual masses of the car and the truck:

Combined mass = mass of car + mass of truck

Using the given values, we can substitute the masses and velocities into the equation:

1500 kg × 16.0 m/s + 0 kg × 0 m/s = (1500 kg + 5100 kg) × final velocity

Simplifying the equation, we have:

24000 kg·m/s = 6600 kg × final velocity

To isolate the final velocity, we divide both sides of the equation by 6600 kg:

24000 kg·m/s ÷ 6600 kg = final velocity

Solving for the final velocity gives:

final velocity ≈ 3.64 m/s

Therefore, the final velocity of the two-vehicle mass is approximately 3.64 m/s.