A 2 kg car moving towards the right at 4 m/s collides head on with an 8 kg car moving towards the left at 2 m/s,and they stick together.After the collision,the velocity of the combined bodies is 0.8 m/s pointing towards the left.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We can use the law of conservation of momentum to solve this problem. The total momentum before the collision is:

P_initial = (2 kg)(4 m/s) - (8 kg)(2 m/s)
P_initial = 0 kg m/s (because one car is moving to the right and the other to the left)

After the collision, the two cars stick together and move with a velocity of 0.8 m/s towards the left. The total momentum after the collision is:

P_final = (10 kg)(-0.8 m/s)
P_final = -8 kg m/s

Since momentum is conserved, we have:

P_initial = P_final
0 kg m/s = -8 kg m/s

This means that the answer is true, and the combined bodies move towards the left after the collision.

A 2 Kg Car Moving Towards the Right at 4