Mary is driving a car of mass 900 kilograms toward the north with a velocity of

22 meters/second. Danny is driving his 900-kilogram car with a velocity of

15 meters/second toward the east. They collide and both cars move together afterwards. What is the magnitude of the resultant momentum of the cars after the collision?

Question

Physics

Dorian Burke

21 October, 02:04

Mary is driving a car of mass 900 kilograms toward the north with a velocity of

22 meters/second. Danny is driving his 900-kilogram car with a velocity of

15 meters/second toward the east. They collide and both cars move together afterwards. What is the magnitude of the resultant momentum of the cars after the collision?

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Answers (1)

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Jazmine Bowen · Answer 1

Since both cars move together after the collision, then this is an example of an inelastic collision. The formula for an inelastic collision is as follows:

m1u1 + m2u2 = (m1 + m2) v

Where:

m1 = mass of the first object

m2 = mass of the second object

u1 = initial velocity of the first object

u2 = initial velocity of the second object

v = final velocity

Substituting the given values to solve for v:

900*22 + 900*15 = (900 + 900) v

v = 18.5 m/s