Inclined Planes - Multiple Ones

[drizzt56]

This isn't exactly a specific question, but it is part of my homework (project). Anyways, suppose I have an inclined plane at 60 degrees. I can measure the mass of a freight car on top of the plane to calculate the force and final velocity of that car... I did this before in physics, and it filled up half a page of math so I won't elaborate too much. The problem is then what happens to these values when the car rolls on another inclined plane connected to the first at a less steep angle, like 45 degrees? What would happen to its final velocity if after it hits this less steep inclined plane, it hits an inclined plane in the opposite direction? The setup would look something like V, except each side isn't one uniform plane, but two that's inclined at different angles. Can someone show me how to calculate the force, final velocity, etc of the car? For example purposes, assume the car is 1kg and just make up heights for the inclined planes.

 

[tiny-tim]

welcome to pf!

hi drizzt56! welcome to pf!

it'll just get stuck at the bottom of the V, won't it?

but if it does somehow manage to carry on, just use conservation of energy if the slopes are frictionless, and the work-energy theorem if they aren't

(and you'll need a coefficient of restitution if the bottom of the V is sharp, so that it "bounces")