Question

You have been called to testify as an expert witness in a trial involving a head-on collision. Car A weighs 690.0 kg and was traveling eastward. Car B weighs 520.0 kg and was traveling westward at 74.0 km/h. The cars locked bumpers and slid eastward with their wheels locked for 6.00 m before stopping. You have measured the coefficient of kinetic friction between the tires and the pavement to be 0.750. 1) How fast (in kilometer per hour) was car A traveling just before the collision

Answer 1

Answer:

The speed of car A before collision is 3.5 km/h.

Explanation:

Mass of car A = 690 kg eastwards

Mass of car B = 520 kg at 74 km/h west wards

Distance, s = 6 m

coefficient of friction = 0.75

Let the speed after collision is v.

Use third equation of motion

$v^2 = u^2 + 2 as \\\\0 =v^2- 2 \times 0.75\times9.8\times 6\\\\v = 9.4 m/s = 33.84 km/h$

Let the initial speed of car A is v'.

Use conservation of momentum

690 x v' - 520 x 74 = (690 + 520) x 33.8

690 v' + 38480 = 40898

v' = 3.5 km/h