Calculating Vehicle Speed at Impact: The Equation and Variables

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To calculate the speed of the vehicle at impact, key variables include the masses of both vehicles, the distance moved post-impact, and the time taken. The user is specifically interested in Equation 2 from a referenced source, which requires determining the speed at impact (Ve^2). The coefficient of friction of the road surface is crucial, with wet asphalt having a coefficient ranging from 0.25 to 0.75. Additional details, such as the tire width of the impacted vehicle, may also be relevant. Understanding these factors is essential for an accurate calculation of the vehicle's speed at the moment of collision.
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I am not too good at physics so I thought I would post here to find an answer to a question. I was recently involved in an automobile accident and was wondering if there was a formula to calculate how fast the other car was traveling at the time of impact. The details are as follows:

Vehicle 1 (v1)was traveling left and vehicle 2 (v2) hit the right front, so v1 was traveling at 0 mph in the direction of being pushed by v2 (think of an L or a T)
Vehicle hit (v1): 3600 lbs.
Vehicle doing the hitting (v2): 2600 lbs.
Distance v1 moved after impact: ~ 2 meters
Time: ~ 1 second
Speed after impact: 0 mph

Thanks if you can help out.

Edit:
Equation 2 on this page http://www.accidentexpert.com/engr/skidart1-a.html is what I am after I think, but I need to find out what Ve^2 is ... is there any way of finding this out? This would be the speed at impact.
 
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There are a lot of variables unaccounted for that would be crucial to determining the mass. Probably the most important one would be the coefficient of friction of the road where the collision took place.
 
MrXow said:
There are a lot of variables unaccounted for that would be crucial to determining the mass. Probably the most important one would be the coefficient of friction of the road where the collision took place.

Additional details that I do have are that the width of the tires on v1 are 235mm. I am sorry that I don't know the coefficient of friction of wet asphalt. I did however find this:
Material 1: Rubber Material 2: Asphalt (Wet) Coefficient of Friction: 0.25-0.0.75

Anything else needed?
 
The book claims the answer is that all the magnitudes are the same because "the gravitational force on the penguin is the same". I'm having trouble understanding this. I thought the buoyant force was equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Weight depends on mass which depends on density. Therefore, due to the differing densities the buoyant force will be different in each case? Is this incorrect?

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