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

16107 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What is an (electrostatically) induced charge?


what force does a person have to exert on one side of a seesaw if the other person weighs 70kg and is the same distance away from the pivot (2m) on the other side of the seesaw?


A cyclist travels along a straight flat road. Describe the condition required for the cyclist to continue traveling along the road at a constant speed. How does this condition change if the cyclist travels up a slope?


What is meant by 'resolving a vector into its components'?


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:

© 2026 by IXL Learning