A railway wagon of mass is rolling on a smooth horizontal track at
PHYSICS · Subjective · A Level · Physics · Mechanics and materials · Mechanics and materials
Problem
A railway wagon A of mass 1.0×104kg is rolling on a smooth horizontal track at 2.0ms−1. It collides with an identical wagon B of mass 1.5×104kg that is at rest on the same track. After the coupling devices lock, the two wagons move together.
(i) Determine their common speed just after coupling.
(ii) Calculate the loss of kinetic energy of the system due to the coupling.
(iii) What fraction of the initial kinetic energy of wagon A is lost in the process?