Answer:
0.7m/s
Explanation:
According to the conservation of linear momentum, the moment before a collision is equal to the moment after the collision. The equation is written as follows: [tex]m_{a}u_{a} + m_{b}u_{b} = m_{a}v_{a} + m_{b}v_{b}[/tex], where [tex]m[/tex] is the mass of the object, [tex]u[/tex] is the initial velocity, and [tex]v[/tex] is the final velocity.
Let's say the object [tex]a[/tex] is our moving wagon and the object [tex]b[/tex] is our stationary wagon. [tex]m_{a} = 500kg, u_{a} = 1.6ms^{-1}[/tex], [tex]m_{b} = 3000kg, u_{b} = 0[/tex], since the wagon is stationary, it doesn't have any initial velocity. After collision, the mass remains the same, but the velocity changes: [tex]v_{a} = ?, v_{b} = 1.5ms^{-1}[/tex]
We can observe that [tex]v_{a}[/tex] is what we're looking for according to the question. Now let's substitute our values.
[tex](5000 * 1.6) + (0) = 5000v_{a} + (3000 * 1.5)[/tex]
[tex]v_{a} = \frac{(5000 * 1.6) - (3000*1.5)}{5000}[/tex] = 0.7m/s
