Question

A car of mass 2400 kg collides with a truck of mass 4500 kg, and just after the collision the car and truck slide along, stuck together, with no rotation. The car's velocity just before the collision was <35, 0, 0> m/s, and the truck's velocity just before the collision was <-10, 0, 21> m/s. What is the increase in internal energy of the car and truck (thermal energy and deformation)?

Answer 1

Solution:

Given,

mass of the car

mass of the truck

initial velocity of car

initial velocity of truck

After the collision, the car and truck travel together with a velocity .

By conservation of momentum,

Total momentum before collision= Total momentum after collision.

Thus,

Total kinetic energy before collision is given by,

Total kinetic energy after collision is given by,

The difference in energy is given by,

  

The increase in internal energy of the car and truçk is .