Question

A railroad car, with a mass of 25,000 kg, is moving north along a track at 4.5 m/s. It has a collision with

Answer 1

Answer:

V = 1.35 m/s

Explanation:

Given that,

Mass of a railroad car, m₁ = 25,000 kg

Initial speed of a railroad car, u₁ = 4.5 m/s

Initial speed of railroad car that is full of coal, u₂ = 0 (at rest)

We need to find the final velocity of the two railroad cars if they move as one after the collision. It is a case of inelastic collision in which the momentum remains conserved. Using the conservation of linear momentum as follows :

$m_1u_1+m_2u_2=(m_1+m_2)V$

V is the final speed and u₂ = 0

$V=\dfrac{m_1u_1}{m_1+m_2}\\\\V=\dfrac{25000\times 4.5}{25000+58000}\\\\V=1.35\ m/s$

So, the final velocity of the two railroad cars is 1.35 m/s.