Question

Train cars are coupled together by being bumped into one another. Suppose two loaded train cars are moving toward one another, the first having a mass of 160,000 kg and a velocity of 0.300 m/s, and the second having a mass of 115,000 kg and a velocity of -0.120 m/s. (The minus indicates direction of motion.) What is their final velocity?

Answer 1

Conservation of Linear Momentum:

M1V1 + M2V2 = M1*V3 + M2*V3

M1 = 160,000 kg
V1 = 0.30 m/s
M2 = 115,000 kg
V2 = -0.120 m/s
Solve for V3, the final velocity.

Answer 2

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