Question

9. A 1500kg car traveling +6m/s with a 2000kg truck at rest. The vehicles collide, but do not stick together. The
car has a velocity -3m/s after the collision. What is the velocity of the truck?
a. What type of collision occurred above?

Answer 1

Answer:

V = 6.75 m/s

Inelastic collision            

Explanation:

Given that,

The mass of the car, m = 1500 Kg

The mass of the truck, M = 2000 Kg

The initial velocity of the car, u = 6 m/s

The initial velocity of the truck, U = 0 m/s

The final velocity of the car, v = -3 m/s

The final velocity of the truck, v = ?

According to the law of conservation of momentum, the algebraic sum of total momentum before impact is equal to the algebraic sum of total momentum after impact.

                       mu + MU = mv + MV

Substituting the values in the above equation

              1500 Kg x 6 m/s +2000 Kg x 0 = 1500 Kg x (-3 m/s) + 2000 Kg x V

                                   V = 13500/2000

                                      = 6.75 m/s

Hence the velocity of the truck, V = 6.75 m/s

In the case of collision between car and truck some of the kinetic energy will be lost as sound and deformation.

So, when the kinetic energy is not conserved, the collision is inelastic collision.