Two automobiles A and B, of mass ss mA and mB, respectively, are traveling in opposite directions

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Two automobiles A and B, of mass ss mA and mB, respectively, are traveling in opposite directions when they collide head on. The impact is assumed perfectly plastic, and it is further assumed that the energy absorbed by each automobile is equal to its loss of kinetic energy with respect to a moving frame of reference attached to the mass center of the two-vehicle system. Denoting by EA and EB, respectively, the energy absorbed by automobile A and by automobile B,

(a) Show that EA/EB = mB/mA, that is, the amount of energy absorbed by each vehicle is inversely proportional to its mass,

(b) Compute EA and EB, knowing that mA = 2400 kg and mB = 1350kg and that the speeds of A and B are, respectively, 135 km/h and 90km/h.

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Vector Mechanics for Engineers Statics and Dynamics

ISBN: 978-0073212227

8th Edition

Authors: Ferdinand Beer, E. Russell Johnston, Jr., Elliot Eisenberg, William Clausen, David Mazurek, Phillip Cornwell

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