1. Two ice skaters skate on a slippery (frictionless) ice rink. Daniel (mass 60 kg ) is skating northwards at \( 1 \mathrm{~m} . \mathrm{s}-1 \) and Lauren (mass 50 kg ) is skating towards him at \( 0,6 \mathrm{~m} . \mathrm{s}-1 \). They collide inelastically with each other. Lauren's velocity after the collision is \( 0,8 \mathrm{~m} . \mathrm{s}- \) l, north. a) Calculate Daniel's velocity after the collision. b) Calculate the change in kinetic energy during the collision.
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To solve the problem, we can use the principles of conservation of momentum and the kinetic energy formulas. **a)** To find Daniel’s velocity after the collision, we first apply the conservation of momentum. The total momentum before the collision must equal the total momentum after the collision. The initial momentum of Daniel (P_D) is: \[ P_D = m_D \cdot v_D = 60 \, \text{kg} \cdot 1 \, \text{m/s} = 60 \, \text{kg m/s} \, \text{(north)} \] The initial momentum of Lauren (P_L) is: \[ P_L = m_L \cdot v_L = 50 \, \text{kg} \cdot (-0.6) \, \text{m/s} = -30 \, \text{kg m/s} \, \text{(south)} \] The total initial momentum (P_total_initial) is: \[ P_{\text{total initial}} = P_D + P_L = 60 - 30 = 30 \, \text{kg m/s} \] After the collision, the combined mass of Daniel and Lauren moving north at a velocity \( v_f \) is: \[ (m_D + m_L) \cdot v_f = 30 \, \text{kg m/s} \] \[ (60 \, \text{kg} + 50 \, \text{kg}) \cdot v_f = 30 \] \[ 110 \, \text{kg} \cdot v_f = 30 \] \[ v_f = \frac{30}{110} \approx 0.273 \, \text{m/s} \, \text{(north)} \] Thus, Daniel's velocity after the collision is approximately \( 0.273 \, \text{m/s} \, \text{(north)} \). **b)** To find the change in kinetic energy during the collision, we first calculate the initial and final kinetic energy. The initial kinetic energy (KE_initial) is the sum of Daniel's and Lauren's kinetic energies: \[ KE_D = \frac{1}{2} m_D v_D^2 = \frac{1}{2} \cdot 60 \cdot (1^2) = 30 \, \text{J} \] \[ KE_L = \frac{1}{2} m_L v_L^2 = \frac{1}{2} \cdot 50 \cdot (0.6^2) = 9 \, \text{J} \] \[ KE_{\text{initial}} = KE_D + KE_L = 30 + 9 = 39 \, \text{J} \] The final kinetic energy (KE_final) after the collision with both moving at \( 0.8 \, \text{m/s} \) north is: \[ KE_{\text{final}} = \frac{1}{2} (m_D + m_L) v_f^2 = \frac{1}{2} \cdot 110 \cdot (0.8^2) \] \[ KE_{\text{final}} = \frac{1}{2} \cdot 110 \cdot 0.64 = 35.2 \, \text{J} \] Now, we find the change in kinetic energy: \[ \Delta KE = KE_{\text{final}} - KE_{\text{initial}} = 35.2 \, \text{J} - 39 \, \text{J} = -3.8 \, \text{J} \] Thus, the change in kinetic energy during the collision is \( -3.8 \, \text{J} \), indicating that kinetic energy was lost in the collision, which is expected in an inelastic collision.