Question

A 12,000kg. railroad car is traveling at +2m/s when it
strikes another 10,000kg.railroad car that is at rest. If the
cars lock together, what is the final velocity of the two
railroad cars?​

Answer 1

Answer:

The final velocity of the two  railroad cars is 1.09 m/s

Explanation:

Since we are given that the two cars lock together it shows that the collision is inelastic in nature. The final velocity due to inelastic collision is given by  

$\mathrm{V}=\frac{V 1 M 1+V 2 M 2}{M 1+M 2}$

where

V= Final velocity

M1= mass of the first object in kgs = 12000

M2= mas of the second object in kgs = 10000

V1= initial velocity of the first object in m/s = 2m/s

V2= initial velocity of the second object in m/s = 0 (given at rest)

Substituting the given values in the formula we get

V = 2×12000 + 0x100012000 + 10000= 2400022000= 1.09 m/s  

$\mathrm{V}=\frac{2 \times 1200+0 \times 1000}{12000+10000}=\frac{24000}{22000}=1.09 \mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}$

Which is the final velocity of the two  railroad cars