Respuesta :
Explanation:
There are generally two types of collisions between objects - elastic and inelastic.
Elastic collisions are those that converse kinetic energy. Inelastic are those that do not conserve kinetic energy.
In the ideal inelastic collision and elastic collisions, momentum is conserved.
Typically, ideal inelastic collisions are represented when both masses stick together after the collision.
The problem statement gives no indication that this is an ideal inelastic collision (the cars stick together) or an inelastic collision (no energy degradation expression is given). Therefore, we should assume that the cars are experiencing an elastic collision.
Since both momentum and kinetic energy are converved, we can observe that...
[tex]m_1 v_1 + m_2 v_2 = m_1 u_1 + m_2 u_2[/tex]
[tex]1/2 m_1 v_1^2 + 1/2 m_2 v_2^2 = 1/2 m_1 u_1^2 + 1/2 m_2 u_2^2[/tex]
where v is the initial velocity and u is the final velocity (after the collision)
The problem statement gives us three of the four unknowns. So we can easily apply either equation to solve the the velocity of the 1600-kg car after the collision. Momentum is easier to work with.
