How fast would a 9-g fly have to be traveling to slow a 1910-kg car traveling at 61 mph by 6 mph if the fly hit the car in a totally inelastic head-on collision?
Could someone explain the steps, please?
3 answers
The answer is supposed to be 1.27e+06 mph, but I'm not sure how to solve for it.
Use conservation of momentum for inelastic collisions (when both masses travel at the same final speed in the same direction):
m1u1+m2u2=(m1+m2)v
Here
m1=0.009 kg
u1=to be found
m2=1910 kg
u2=61 mph
(m1+m2)=1910.009
v2=55 mph
So
0.009u1+1910*61 = (1910.009)(55)
Solve for u1
u1=(1910.009*55-1910*61)/0.009
=-1.27*106 m/s
The negative sign means the fly travels in the opposite direction to the car.
m1u1+m2u2=(m1+m2)v
Here
m1=0.009 kg
u1=to be found
m2=1910 kg
u2=61 mph
(m1+m2)=1910.009
v2=55 mph
So
0.009u1+1910*61 = (1910.009)(55)
Solve for u1
u1=(1910.009*55-1910*61)/0.009
=-1.27*106 m/s
The negative sign means the fly travels in the opposite direction to the car.
it wouldn't slow the car down at all its redundet there just isn't enough pressure behind the fly to stop the car or to slow it down it would kill the fly and make a speck of guts on the windshield
2 answers