Two cars have a ‘rear end’ collision. A 120 kg Honda moving at 20 m/s strikes a 100 kg Ford moving at 15 m/s. Their bumpers become locked and they continue to move as one mass. What is their final velocity?

Respuesta :

Given

Mass of the Honda car, m=120 kg

Velocity of the Honda car, v=20 m/s

Mass of the Ford, m'=100 kg

Velocity of the Ford , v'=15 m/s

To find

The final velocity.

Explanation

The combined velocity is V

By conservation of momentum,

[tex]\begin{gathered} mv+m^{\prime}v^{\prime}=(m+m^{\prime})V \\ \Rightarrow120\times20+100\times15=(120+100)V \\ \Rightarrow V=17.72\text{ m/s} \end{gathered}[/tex]

Conclusion

The combined velocity is 17.72 m/s