Question
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CS International
CSE Physics (Chapter 5 Momentum)
Two equally weighted objects of mass m are moving in opposite directions, one with half
the velocity of the other. If they collide and stick together, what is the resultant
velocity in terms of the faster object’s velocity, ?

Ask by Paul Ward. in Singapore
Mar 28,2025

Upstudy AI Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

The resultant velocity after the collision is .

Solution

  1. Let the masses be . Assume the faster object moves to the right with speed and the slower object moves to the left with speed .
  2. The momentum of the faster object is
    and the momentum of the slower object is
  3. The total momentum before the collision is
  4. Since the objects stick together after the collision, their combined mass is
  5. By conservation of momentum, the velocity of the combined object is given by
  6. Solving for gives
The resultant velocity in terms of is

Answered by UpStudy AI and reviewed by a Professional Tutor

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Mind Expander

When the two objects collide and stick together, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. Let’s denote the faster object’s velocity as and the slower one as . The momentum before the collision for the two objects is:
After they collide and stick together, the combined mass is and let’s call their resultant velocity . Therefore, the momentum after the collision is:
Setting the momentum before the collision equal to the momentum after, we have:
Solving for , we find:
Thus, the resultant velocity of the two objects after the collision, in terms of the faster object’s velocity , is .

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