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Writer's picturekeshprad

Princeton Review 16th Edition PT1 Q17


17) For this question, we are now given that the mass m is 12kg. The problem states that the blocks will stick together and move together. We are prompted to solve for the speed the blocks travel together at. In order to solve this problem, we can use the law of conservation of momentum.

Where p is total momentum

There are two central ideas needed to solve this problem. First, we should know that momentum is equivalent to the product of an object's mass and velocity. And second, we must know that the total momentum of a system is the sum of the momentum of the individual objects. With this in mind, we can come up with an equation.

Where m is mass and v is velocity

But wait! The problem states that after the collision, the blocks stick to each other and move together. If they are moving together, that must mean they have the same speed after the collision, so we can simplify this equation even further.

Where m is mass and v is velocity

We finally have all the information and the correct relations we need to solve for the final speed. We can plug in our given values and solve for our unknown.

Answer: A

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