Question

Two vehicles collide and stick together. After the collision, their combined y-momentum is 2.40 x 10^4 kilogram meters/second, and their x-momentum is 7.00 x 10^4 kilogram meters/second. What is the angle of the motion of the two vehicles, with respect to the x-axis?

Could someone please assist?

EDIT:

Okay, so I tried myself and here's what I did:

2.40 x 10^4 * 7.00 x 10^4 = 168 = 16.8 degrees
Not sure if right, anyone want to confirm?

Answer 1

I'm not sure what you're doing, but momentum is \[\vec p = m \vec v\] you should make a drawing for initial case and final case, are you given directions?

Answer 2

Anyways to find the angle of the motion we use \[\tan \theta = \left( \frac{ |P_y f| }{ |P_x f| } \right)\]

Answer 3

I wasn't given any specific directions, all I wrote was all that was there...

Ah, alright, so it'll be

tan(theta) = (2.40 x 10^4 (f) / 7.00 x 10^4 (f))?

Answer 4

The f here just means final case, but yes, that's fine \[\tan \theta = \left( \frac{ 2.4 }{ 7 } \right)\]

Answer 5

Do you know how to isolate angle theta?

Answer 6

By the way the reason I used 2.4 and 7 and did not include 10^4 because 10^4/10^4 is just 1.

Answer 7

theta^-1 right?

Answer 8

Right, we take the inverse! :)

Answer 9

Oh wait...would it look something like this?

(theta) = tan^-1= (2.4/7)

Answer 10

\[\theta = \tan ^{-1} \left( \frac{ 2.4 }{ 7 } \right)\]