Question

2200 kg semi truck driving down the highway has lost control. The truck rolls across the median and into oncoming traffic. The truck collides with a 2000 kg car that is traveling north at 45 m/s. The two vehicles stick together creating a single wreck that travels south at 15 m/s. what was the initial speed and direction of the semi truck?

Answer 1

Answer:

The semi truck travels at an initial speed of 69.545 meters per second downwards.

Explanation:

In this exercise we see a case of an entirely inellastic collision between the semi truck and the car, which can be described by the following equation derived from Principle of Linear Momentum Conservation: (We assume that velocity oriented northwards is positive)

$m_{S}\cdot v_{S}+m_{C}\cdot v_{C} = (m_{S}+m_{C})\cdot v$ (1)

Where:

$m_{S}$, $m_{C}$ - Masses of the semi truck and the car, measured in kilograms.

$v_{S}$, $v_{C}$ - Initial velocities of the semi truck and the car, measured in meters per second.

$v$ - Final speed of the system after collision, measured in meters per second.

If we know that $m_{S} = 2200\,kg$, $m_{C} = 2000\,kg$, $v_{C} = 45\,\frac{m}{s}$ and $v = -15\,\frac{m}{s}$, then the initial velocity of the semi truck is:

$m_{S}\cdot v_{S} = (m_{S}+m_{C})\cdot v -m_{C}\cdot v_{C}$

$v_{S} = \frac{(m_{S}+m_{C})\cdot v - m_{C}\cdot v_{C}}{m_{S}}$

$v_{S} = \left(1+\frac{m_{C}}{m_{S}} \right)\cdot v - \frac{m_{C}}{m_{S}} \cdot v_{C}$

$v_{S} = v +\frac{m_{C}}{m_{S}}\cdot (v-v_{C})$

$v_{S} = -15\,\frac{m}{s}+\left(\frac{2000\,kg}{2200\,kg} \right) \cdot \left(-15\,\frac{m}{s}-45\,\frac{m}{s} \right)$

$v_{S} = -69.545\,\frac{m}{s}$  

The semi truck travels at an initial speed of 69.545 meters per second downwards.