Question

Spaceship 1 and Spaceship 2 have equal masses of 200 kg. Spaceship 1 has a speed of 0 m/s, and Spaceship 2 has a speed of 6 m/s. They collide and stick together. What is their speed?

Answer 1

3 ms⁻¹

Step-by-step explanation:

Theory

The law of conservation of linear momentum

The sum of linear momentum of a system under no external force remains constant.

In this scenario although different forces act on two spaceship by each other when we consider the total system of two spaceship no external unbalance force act on them. So we can apply this law.

As law says,

The sum of linear momentum before collision = The sum of linear momentum after collision.

Momentum = mass × velocity.

So we get, 200×0 +200×6 = 400×v where v = velocity of the locked spaceships,

v = 3 ms⁻¹