Question
Bumper car
moves east at
.
Bumper car
moves east at
.
If the cars have an elastic collision,
what would the velocity of car 1 be
afterwards?
Remember East is positive
: west is negative
.
Bumper car
If the cars have an elastic collision,
what would the velocity of car 1 be
afterwards?
Ask by Davey Dickson. in South Africa
Jan 22,2025
Upstudy AI Solution
Tutor-Verified Answer
Answer
After the elastic collision, bumper car 1 moves east at approximately
.
Solution

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Beyond the Answer
To find the final velocity of bumper car 1 after an elastic collision, we can use the conservation of momentum and the principle of conservation of kinetic energy. Assuming both cars collide elastically and along a straight line (in the east direction), we can set up two equations.
-
Conservation of Momentum:where:
-
(mass of car 1) -
(mass of car 2) -
(initial velocity of car 1) -
(initial velocity of car 2) -
and are the final velocities of car 1 and car 2 after the collision.
-
-
Conservation of Kinetic Energy:
We can simplify the problem using formulas for the final velocities after an elastic collision:
Plugging in the numbers for
:
Thus, the final velocity of car 1 is: