Question

Car A, with a mass of 1250 kg, is traveling at 30 m/s to the east. Car B is a truck with a mass of 2000 kg, traveling to the west at 25 m/s. Assume these two vehicles experience an inelastic collision but do not stick together, and Car A goes off 10 m/s to the west. What will be the resulting velocity of Car B?

Answer 1

Since we're dealing with just east/west, we can use just +/- for our velocities, with + meaning east.

pA = 1250(30) = 37500
pB = 2000(-25) = -50000
sum = -12500

The momentum of the system remains unchanged. After the collision,

pA = 1250(-10) = -12500
Since A has all the momentum now, B has come to a stop.

Answer 2

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could answer my question. A two head collision. One car is 45000 newtons and going at 15 meters per second. The other car is 9000 newtons and going at 25 meters per second. How would I calculate velocity from this.