Question

In a Physics 111 laboratory experiment, a cart with a mass of 0.80 kg and a velocity of 0.50 m/s collides elastically into a stationary cart with a mass of 1.0 kg. After the collision, what is the velocity of the 0.80 kg cart?

Answer 1

Elastic collisions are collisions in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. The total system kinetic energy before the collision equals the total system kinetic energy after the collision. We calculate as follows:

m1v1 = m1v1' + m2v2'
0.80(0.50) = (0.80)(0.80-1)/(0.80+1)(0.50) + 1v2'
v2' = 0.11

Hope this helps. Have a nice day.