A 1300-kg car moving north at 27.0 m/s is struck by a 2165-kg car moving east at 17.0 m/s. The cars are stuck together. How fast and in what direction do they move immediately after the collision?

Answer 1

X = m1*V1 = 2165 * 17 = 36,805
Y = m2*V2 = 1300 * 27 = 35,100

Tan A = Y/X = 35,100/36,805 = 0.95367
A = 43.64o

m*V = X/Cos A = 36,805/Cos43.64 = 50,859

(m1+m2)V = 50,859
(2165+1300)V = 50,859
V = 50,859/(2165+1300) = 14.7 m/s. @ 43.64o