Car 1 has a of mass 1000kg and is going at 20m/s. Car 2 has the same mass as Car 1 and is stationary. If they collide and travel together as one unit in the same direction as Car 1 was going, calculate the speed of the unit after the collision.

By Conservation of Momentum

Total Momentum Before= Total Momentum After

thus

m1v1+m2v2=(m1+m2)v3

Plugging in the numbers and re-arranging for v3 gives

100020+10000=2000*v3

v3=(1000*20)/2000=10m/s

AH
Answered by Aamir H. Physics tutor

15735 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Describe the structure of an alpha particle


An elastic wire suspended from a workbench has a 2kg mass attached to its free end. The wire changes in length by 2cm. Calculate the elastic potential energy stored in the wire.


What do geostationary satellites do?


What is a moment?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning