Need some help answering this problem thanks

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In summary, the conversation discusses a problem involving the collision of two cars with different masses and speeds. The task is to calculate the amount of kinetic energy lost in the collision, taking into account the conservation of momentum and the change in kinetic energy when the two cars stick together after impact.
  • #1
nsingh947
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hi just wondering how you would solve this problem

A 3 kg toy car with a speed of 6 m/s collides head on with a 2kg car traveling in the opposite direction with a speed of 4 m/s. If the cars are locked together after the collision with a speed of 2 m/s, how much kinetic energy is lost?
 
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  • #2
Find the kinetic energies before impact. Then find the kinetic energy when the two stick together after impact. Find the difference.
 
  • #3
Momentum is conserved, and kinetic energy is easy to calculate for each object. Incidentally, the problem is overspecified. They could have asked you to calculate the final speed from the masses and initial speeds.
 

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