Physics Word Problem

Question

A car with mass 1.5 x 10^3 kg traveling east at a speed of 25 m/s collides at an intersection with a 2.5 x10^3 kg van traveling north at a speed of 20 m/s. Find the magnitude and direction of the velocity of the wreckage after the collision, assuming that the vehicles undergo a perfectly inelastic collision and and assuming that friction between the vehicles and the road can be neglected.

Answer 1

First we find the find the magnitude of the velocity of the wreckage.  Since the car is moving east and the van is moving north, we can use Pythagorean theorem to find the resultant velocity.

 

R = sqrt(1500²+2500²)

 

R = 2915.48 m/s

 

Next we find the direction of the velocity wreckage by finding the angle.

 

θ = tan^-1(2500/1500)

 

θ = 59.03° Northeast