Question

While Bill yells out the answers to the game, James and Dylan are walking to their rooms toward each other. Dylan has a mass of 85kg and James has a weight of 735.8N. James has a velocity of 4m/s and Dylan has just covered 12 meters in 4 seconds.  The two collide with Dylan exerting an average force of 1115N against James.

1. If the collision is inelastic, how fast and in what direction will the two be traveling immediately after the collision?
2. If the horizontal force acting on each person during the collision is the only force then what average horizontal acceleration does each person experience during the collision?
3. What is Dylan vertical acceleration during the collision if the average force remains constant?

Answer 1

a)

Mass of Dylan , Initial velocity of Dylan

Mass of James ,Initial velocity of James (negative sign indicates that James is walking in opposite direction to Dylan)

a)

For the inelastic collision, momentum is conserved and Dylan and James will have same velocity after collision.

After collision the two are traveling in the direction of James with a speed

b)

The horizontal force acting on each person during the collision is

Average horizontal acceleration of Dylan is

Average horizontal acceleration of James is

c)

As Dylan is moving in horizontal direction, vertical acceleration of Dylan during the collision is zero.