Trolley A weighs 5kg and is moving at 15m/s to the right. It collides with a stationary Trolley B, weighing 10kg more than Trolley A. After the collision they move off together. Calulate the velocity that they move off with.

MYTUTOR SUBJECT ANSWERS

Answers / Physics / GCSE / Trolley A weighs 5kg and is moving at 15m/s to the right. It collides with a stationary Trolley B, weighing 10kg more than Trolley A. After the collision they move off together. Calulate the velocity that they move off with.

598 views

Trolley A weighs 5kg and is moving at 15m/s to the right. It collides with a stationary Trolley B, weighing 10kg more than Trolley A. After the collision they move off together. Calulate the velocity that they move off with.

To start with, we should work out all of the quantities we need:

Mass of Trolley A: M_A= 5kg

Mass of Trolley B: B weighs 10kg more than A

--> Therefore M_B= 10 + 5 = 15kg

Mass of Both Trolleys together: M_AB = 15 + 5 = 20kg

Initial Velocity of A: V_A= 15 m/s

Initial Velocity of B: V_B= 0 m/s

By the conservation of momentum, we know that the total momentum of a closed system is unchanged for any process. Thus the initial and final momenta of the two trollies combined are the same, ie:

P_A + P_B = P_AB where P is momentum

We know that momentum P = mv

Therefore:

M_AV_A + M_BV_B = M_ABV_AB

From above, we know all of these quantities except for V_ABwhich is the quantity we need to find for the answer. Thus we can substitute in all of the values and find V_AB:

(5x15) + (15x0) = (20xV_AB)

75 = 20V_AB

V_AB = 75/20 = 3.75 m/s

Joshua D. GCSE Maths tutor, 11 Plus Maths tutor, IB Maths tutor, 13 p...

1 year ago

Answered by Joshua, a GCSE Physics tutor with MyTutor

Still stuck? Get one-to-one help from a personally interviewed subject specialist

274 SUBJECT SPECIALISTS

Mark H. GCSE Maths tutor, A Level Maths tutor, GCSE Physics tutor

View profile

£24 /hr

Mark H.

Degree: Mathematics MMath (Masters) - Manchester University

Subjects offered:Physics, Maths+ 1 more

“Hello there, I'm Mark and I study Mathematics at the University of Manchester! Let me help you achieve your best!”

5.0

74 reviews | 113 completed tutorials

Save profile

£22 /hr

Madeleine N.

Degree: Natural Sciences (Masters) - Durham University

Subjects offered:Physics, Spanish+ 3 more

“Enthusiastic student, studying Maths and Physics at Durham university: keen to work hard with students to improve their results.”

5.0

28 reviews | 49 completed tutorials

Save profile

Haider M. A Level Biology tutor, GCSE Biology tutor, GCSE Chemistry ...

View profile

£24 /hr

Haider M.

Degree: Medicine (Bachelors) - Exeter University

Subjects offered:Physics, Maths+ 7 more

“A bit about me I am currently in my 2nd year of medical school at the University of Exeter. I really enjoy learning about science, especially the science of health disease, and would love nothing more than to pass down this knowledge ...”

5.0

24 reviews | 84 completed tutorials

Save profile

See more GCSE Physics tutors

About the author

View profile

Joshua D.

Currently unavailable: for regular students

Degree: Materials Science (Masters) - Oxford, Corpus Christi College University

Subjects offered:Physics, Maths+ 4 more

“About Me Hi! I'm an Undergraduate studying Materials Science at the University of Oxford, about to begin my second year of study. I have a passion for the Physical Sciences - in particularMaths, Physics and Chemistry, and am keen to ...”

5.0

3 reviews | 15 completed tutorials

Save profile

Version:	3.49.9
Build:	5f485a18d000
Time:	2017-09-20T16:11:15Z

MYTUTOR SUBJECT ANSWERS

Trolley A weighs 5kg and is moving at 15m/s to the right. It collides with a stationary Trolley B, weighing 10kg more than Trolley A. After the collision they move off together. Calulate the velocity that they move off with.

Still stuck? Get one-to-one help from a personally interviewed subject specialist

274 SUBJECT SPECIALISTS

About the author

You may also like...

Posts by Joshua

Other GCSE Physics questions

One-to-one help is at your fingertips