Asked by Amy
Alaskan moose can be as massive as 800 kg. Suppose two feuding moose, both of which have a mass of 800 kg, back away and then run toward each other. If one of them runs to the left with a speed of 6.0 m/s, and the other runs to the right with a speed of 8.0 m/s, what amount of kinetic energy will be dissipated after their inelastic collision?
Answers
Answered by
drwls
You are probably supposed to assume that they stick together, with total momentum conserved. In that case, they end up traveling both at a speed V such that
1600*V = 800*8.0 - 800*6.0
V = 1.0 m/s
K.E. dissipated
= Initial KE - final KE
= (1/2)(2)*800*(8^2+6^2 - (1/2)1600*1^2
= 800*[100 - 1) = 79,200 J
1600*V = 800*8.0 - 800*6.0
V = 1.0 m/s
K.E. dissipated
= Initial KE - final KE
= (1/2)(2)*800*(8^2+6^2 - (1/2)1600*1^2
= 800*[100 - 1) = 79,200 J