Edexcel M1 2014 January — Question 1

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleM1 (Mechanics 1)
Year2014
SessionJanuary
TopicMomentum and Collisions

  1. A truck \(P\) of mass \(2 M\) is moving with speed \(U\) on smooth straight horizontal rails. It collides directly with another truck \(Q\) of mass \(3 M\) which is moving with speed \(4 U\) in the opposite direction on the same rails. The trucks join so that immediately after the collision they move together. By modelling the trucks as particles, find
    1. the speed of the trucks immediately after the collision,
    2. the magnitude of the impulse exerted on \(P\) by \(Q\) in the collision.