At a busy intersection a 1460-kg car traveling west with a speed of 12 m/s collides head-on with a minivan traveling east with a speed of 9.4 m/s. The cars stick together and move with an initial velocity of 1.5 m/s to the east after the collision.

Question

What is the mass of the minivan?

Answer 1

conservation of momentum
1460*12W +M*12E=(M+1460)1.5E

since W=-E, then
-1460*12 +M*9.4 =(M+1460)1.5
-1460(9.4+1.5)=-12M
solve for M, the mass of the minivan

Answer 2

1940