Calculating Mass of a Car with KE of 1*10^6 J

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In summary, the conversation discusses the problem of finding the mass of a car traveling at 25 km/hour with a kinetic energy of 1*10^(6) J. The conversation includes converting km/h to m/s and discussing the formula for kinetic energy (KE = 1/2mv^2). The final answer is found to be 41472 kg. The conversation also touches on unit conversions and the importance of canceling out units to find the desired result.
  • #1
Lovely
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O.K . What is 1*10(6power)J mean. Do I further need to break this down in order to work the problem.
Problem: A car travleling 25 km/hour has Kinetic energy of 1*10(6power)J.
What is the mass of the car?
I've converted k/h to m/s
 
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  • #2
Lovely said:
O.K . What is 1*10(6power)J mean. Do I further need to break this down in order to work the problem.
Problem: A car travleling 25 km/hour has Kinetic energy of 1*10(6power)J.
What is the mass of the car?
I've converted k/h to m/s

Do you know what mass is in terms of velocity and energy?

Doug
 
  • #3
Mathechyst said:
Do you know what mass is in terms of velocity and energy?

Doug
If I'm looking for mass am I suppose to know?
 
  • #4
Lovely said:
If I'm looking for mass am I suppose to know?
No I do not know what mass is in terms of velocity and energy
 
  • #5
[tex]KE=\frac{1}{2}mv^2[/tex]. So, if [tex]KE = 10^6[/tex], and [tex]v=25km/h[/tex] or [tex]~6.9m/s...[/tex]
10000000/.5(6.9)^2=416666kg? Thats almost 300X the average mass of a car

Edited: Oops on Calculations, Thanks Mathechyst
 
Last edited:
  • #6
DirtyDan said:
[tex]KE=\frac{1}{2}mv^2[/tex]. So, if [tex]KE = 10^6[/tex], and [tex]v=25...[/tex]
10000000/(312.5)=3200kg

It doesn't look like you accounted for the fact that the velocity is given in [itex]km/hr[/itex].
 
  • #7
Yeah, I've been editing it lol.. But now look, I checked it a couple of times. Is it meant to come out with non-sensical numbers?
 
  • #8
DirtyDan said:
Yeah, I've been editing it lol.. But now look, I checked it a couple of times. Is it meant to come out with non-sensical numbers?

Since we're giving out the answer, we should show how it is solved:
[tex]
m=\frac{2K}{v^2}=\frac{2\cdot1\cdot10^6 kg\cdot{m^2}}{s^2}\cdot\frac{hr^2}{25^2 km^2}\cdot\frac{3600^2 s^2}{hr^2}\cdot\frac{km^2}{1000^2 m^2}=\frac{2\cdot3600^2}{25^2}kg=41472kg
[/tex]
Hmm. A 45.6 ton car. Still, it looks right to me. Let's do a back of the envelope calculation to see what we come up with. Suppose we have a 1000 kg (2200 lb) car going 25 km/hr.

[tex]
\frac{mv^2}{2}=\frac{1000kg}{1}\cdot\frac{25^2 km^2}{hr^2}\cdot\frac{1000^2 m^2}{km^2}\cdot\frac{hr^2}{3600^2 s^2}=\frac{1000\cdot25^2\cdot1000^2 kg\cdot{m^2}}{s^2}=48225.3J
[/tex]

Yes, I would say a million joules at 25km/hr is a bit much.

Doug
 
Last edited:
  • #9
Mathechyst said:
Since we're giving out the answer, we should show how it is solved:
[tex]
m=\frac{2K}{v^2}=\frac{2\cdot1\cdot10^6 kg\cdot{m^2}}{s^2}\cdot\frac{hr^2}{25^2 km^2}\cdot\frac{3600^2 s^2}{hr^2}\cdot\frac{km^2}{1000^2 m^2}=\frac{2\cdot3600^2}{25^2}kg=41472kg
[/tex]
Hmm. A [itex]9\frac{1}{2}[/itex] ton car. Still, it looks right to me.

Doug
O.K Mathechyst I got completed lost. I didn't see were you converted k/m into m/s. I'm sorry but i guess I'm missing the whole concept
 
  • #10
Lovely said:
O.K Mathechyst I got completed lost. I didn't see were you converted k/m into m/s. I'm sorry but i guess I'm missing the whole concept

I find it easier to include the units conversion along with the rest of the solution. It's just a matter of multiplying by 1. For example, to convert km/hr to km/s you multiply the km/hr by the number of hours in a second, namely 1/3600.

[tex]
\frac{25 km}{hr}\cdot\frac{hr}{3600 s}=\frac{25 km}{3600 s}=\frac{1 km}{144 s}
[/tex]

Notice how the [itex]hr[/itex] units cancel? That's what you want to do. Cancel out the units you don't want and replace them with the units you do want. Now to convert km/s to m/s you just multiply km/s by the number of meters in a kilometer, so:

[tex]
\frac{1 km}{144 s}\cdot\frac{1000 m}{km}=\frac{1000 m}{144 s}=6.94\frac{m}{s}
[/tex]

See how the [itex]km[/tex] units cancelled?

Doug
 
  • #11
Mathechyst said:
I find it easier to include the units conversion along with the rest of the solution. It's just a matter of multiplying by 1. For example, to convert km/hr to km/s you multiply the km/hr by the number of hours in a second, namely 1/3600.

[tex]
\frac{25 km}{hr}\cdot\frac{hr}{3600 s}=\frac{25 km}{3600 s}=\frac{1 km}{144 s}
[/tex]

Notice how the [itex]hr[/itex] units cancel? That's what you want to do. Cancel out the units you don't want and replace them with the units you do want. Now to convert km/s to m/s you just multiply km/s by the number of meters in a kilometer, so:

[tex]
\frac{1 km}{144 s}\cdot\frac{1000 m}{km}=\frac{1000 m}{144 s}=6.94\frac{m}{s}
[/tex]

See how the [itex]km[/tex] units cancelled?

Doug
Thanks for the help. I have completed the activity. I appreciate you.
:rofl:
 

1. How do you calculate the mass of a car with a kinetic energy of 1*10^6 J?

To calculate the mass of a car with a kinetic energy of 1*10^6 J, you can use the formula KE = 1/2 * m * v^2, where KE is the kinetic energy, m is the mass, and v is the velocity of the car. Rearranging the formula, you get m = 2 * KE / v^2. Plug in the values for KE and v to get the mass in kilograms.

2. What is the relationship between kinetic energy and mass of a car?

The kinetic energy of a car is directly proportional to its mass. This means that the greater the mass of the car, the more kinetic energy it will have. This is because kinetic energy is a measure of the object's motion, and a heavier object requires more energy to move at the same speed as a lighter object.

3. How can I measure the kinetic energy of a car?

The kinetic energy of a car can be measured by using a device called a dynamometer. This device measures the force and speed of the car and calculates the kinetic energy using the formula KE = 1/2 * m * v^2. Another way to measure the kinetic energy is by using a video camera to record the car's speed and then using the formula to calculate the kinetic energy.

4. Can the mass of a car affect its kinetic energy?

Yes, the mass of a car has a direct impact on its kinetic energy. As mentioned earlier, the greater the mass, the more kinetic energy the car will have. This is because a heavier car requires more energy to move at the same speed as a lighter car.

5. Why is it important to calculate the mass of a car with a specific kinetic energy?

Calculating the mass of a car with a specific kinetic energy can provide important information for understanding the car's performance and safety. It can also help in determining the car's fuel efficiency and the amount of energy needed to maintain a certain speed. Additionally, this calculation can be useful in engineering and designing cars for better performance and safety.

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