Edexcel M1 2012 January — Question 1

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2012
SessionJanuary
TopicMomentum and Collisions

  1. A railway truck \(P\), of mass \(m \mathrm {~kg}\), is moving along a straight horizontal track with speed \(15 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). Truck \(P\) collides with a truck \(Q\) of mass 3000 kg , which is at rest on the same track. Immediately after the collision the speed of \(P\) is \(3 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) and the speed of \(Q\) is \(9 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). The direction of motion of \(P\) is reversed by the collision.
Modelling the trucks as particles, find
  1. the magnitude of the impulse exerted by \(P\) on \(Q\),
  2. the value of \(m\).