Edexcel M1 2002 November — Question 6

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2002
SessionNovember
TopicMomentum and Collisions

6. A railway truck \(P\) of mass 1500 kg is moving on a straight horizontal track. The truck \(P\) collides with a truck \(Q\) of 2500 kg at a point \(A\). Immediately before the collision, \(P\) and \(Q\) are moving in the same direction with speeds \(10 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) and \(5 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) respectively. Immediately after the collision, the direction of motion of \(P\) is unchanged and its speed is \(4 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). By modelling the trucks as particles,
  1. show that the speed of \(Q\) immediately after the collision is \(8.6 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). After the collision at \(A\), the truck \(P\) is acted upon by a constant braking force of magnitude 500 N . The truck \(P\) comes to rest at the point \(B\).
  2. Find the distance \(A B\). After the collision \(Q\) continues to move with constant speed \(8.6 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\).
  3. Find the distance between \(P\) and \(Q\) at the instant when \(P\) comes to rest.