THE PRACTICE STUDIO
Go slowly. Ask why. Make it yours.
PRACTICE / Inelastic collisions
Two carts leave together
A 2 kg cart at +5 m/s collides with a stationary 3 kg cart. They stick together.
Find their common final velocity.
Organize the givens & assumptions
- m₁ = 2 kg
- u₁ = +5 m/s
- m₂ = 3 kg
- u₂ = 0
One-dimensional brief impact; negligible external impulse; carts stick and share one final velocity.
Study with a tutor prompt
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Problem: Two carts leave together
A 2 kg cart at +5 m/s collides with a stationary 3 kg cart. They stick together.
Question: Find their common final velocity.
Givens:
- m₁ = 2 kg
- u₁ = +5 m/s
- m₂ = 3 kg
- u₂ = 0
Assumptions: One-dimensional brief impact; negligible external impulse; carts stick and share one final velocity.
Choices (LaTeX):
A. 2\ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}
B. 5\ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}
C. \sqrt{10}\ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}
D. 10/3\ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}
Ask for my approach first. Help me distinguish a physical misconception from an algebra error without revealing which choice is correct.
Tutoring approach:
Act as a patient physics tutor. Ask what I understand and what I have tried, then wait for my reply. Teach one step at a time; do not give the final answer or a complete solution immediately. Start with a physical picture. Define unfamiliar symbols and operators, explain signs and units, and state the model's assumptions. Give progressively stronger hints only when I need them. Ask me to predict a change before calculating it. When I finish, help me check dimensions and a limiting case, then ask one related transfer question. If information is missing or ambiguous, ask rather than inventing it. Distinguish exact results from approximations and acknowledge uncertainty.Start with the smallest hint.
Work through it with me.
One decision at a time. Pause, predict, then unpack the algebra.
The same initial momentum is now carried by the combined mass.
Choose a physical relation
Total momentum survives the collision even though kinetic energy decreases in sticking.
Isolate what is asked
The same initial momentum is now carried by the combined mass.
Why is this step valid?
Retain velocity signs and divide the initial total momentum by the combined mass.
Substitute and interpret
The joined carts move at +2 m/s; this is slower than the initially moving cart.
Both sides have 10 kg·m/s momentum; final kinetic energy is lower as expected.
TRY THE IDEA AGAIN
If the second cart initially moved at +5 m/s too, what common velocity would result?
YOUR LEARNING NOTE
How does this idea feel now?
Confidence is a reflection, not proof of mastery.
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