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Aprende Challenge: Car Crash Simulator | Forces and Energy
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bookChallenge: Car Crash Simulator

In this challenge, you will simulate a car crash between two vehicles and analyze the results for both elastic and inelastic collision scenarios. By modeling the collision, you will calculate the final velocities of both cars and determine the amount of kinetic energy lost during the event. This activity builds on your understanding of motion, energy, and collisions, giving you a practical application of physics concepts using python.

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Your task is to write a function that simulates a head-on car crash between two vehicles and analyzes the results for both elastic and inelastic collision scenarios. Follow these detailed instructions to complete the simulation:

  • Your function should be named car_crash_simulator and accept five parameters: m1 (mass of car 1 in kg), v1 (initial velocity of car 1 in m/s), m2 (mass of car 2 in kg), v2 (initial velocity of car 2 in m/s), and collision_type (either 'elastic' or 'inelastic').
  • For an elastic collision (when collision_type is 'elastic'):
    • Use the following formulas to compute the final velocities of each car after the collision:
      • Final velocity of car 1:
        v1_final = ((m1 - m2) / (m1 + m2)) * v1 + ((2 * m2) / (m1 + m2)) * v2
      • Final velocity of car 2:
        v2_final = ((2 * m1) / (m1 + m2)) * v1 + ((m2 - m1) / (m1 + m2)) * v2
  • For an inelastic collision (when collision_type is 'inelastic'):
    • Assume the cars stick together after the crash and move with a common final velocity:
      • Common final velocity for both cars:
        v_final = (m1 * v1 + m2 * v2) / (m1 + m2)
      • Set both v1_final and v2_final to v_final.
  • Calculate the total kinetic energy before the collision:
    • KE_initial = 0.5 * m1 * v1 ** 2 + 0.5 * m2 * v2 ** 2
  • Calculate the total kinetic energy after the collision:
    • KE_final = 0.5 * m1 * v1_final ** 2 + 0.5 * m2 * v2_final ** 2
  • Determine the energy lost during the collision:
    • energy_lost = KE_initial - KE_final
  • Return a tuple containing three values in this order: (v1_final, v2_final, energy_lost).
  • If an invalid collision_type is provided, raise a ValueError with an appropriate message.

Solución

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Sección 2. Capítulo 5
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Suggested prompts:

Can you explain the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions?

How do I calculate the final velocities for both types of collisions?

What information do I need to start modeling the car crash in Python?

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bookChallenge: Car Crash Simulator

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In this challenge, you will simulate a car crash between two vehicles and analyze the results for both elastic and inelastic collision scenarios. By modeling the collision, you will calculate the final velocities of both cars and determine the amount of kinetic energy lost during the event. This activity builds on your understanding of motion, energy, and collisions, giving you a practical application of physics concepts using python.

Tarea

Swipe to start coding

Your task is to write a function that simulates a head-on car crash between two vehicles and analyzes the results for both elastic and inelastic collision scenarios. Follow these detailed instructions to complete the simulation:

  • Your function should be named car_crash_simulator and accept five parameters: m1 (mass of car 1 in kg), v1 (initial velocity of car 1 in m/s), m2 (mass of car 2 in kg), v2 (initial velocity of car 2 in m/s), and collision_type (either 'elastic' or 'inelastic').
  • For an elastic collision (when collision_type is 'elastic'):
    • Use the following formulas to compute the final velocities of each car after the collision:
      • Final velocity of car 1:
        v1_final = ((m1 - m2) / (m1 + m2)) * v1 + ((2 * m2) / (m1 + m2)) * v2
      • Final velocity of car 2:
        v2_final = ((2 * m1) / (m1 + m2)) * v1 + ((m2 - m1) / (m1 + m2)) * v2
  • For an inelastic collision (when collision_type is 'inelastic'):
    • Assume the cars stick together after the crash and move with a common final velocity:
      • Common final velocity for both cars:
        v_final = (m1 * v1 + m2 * v2) / (m1 + m2)
      • Set both v1_final and v2_final to v_final.
  • Calculate the total kinetic energy before the collision:
    • KE_initial = 0.5 * m1 * v1 ** 2 + 0.5 * m2 * v2 ** 2
  • Calculate the total kinetic energy after the collision:
    • KE_final = 0.5 * m1 * v1_final ** 2 + 0.5 * m2 * v2_final ** 2
  • Determine the energy lost during the collision:
    • energy_lost = KE_initial - KE_final
  • Return a tuple containing three values in this order: (v1_final, v2_final, energy_lost).
  • If an invalid collision_type is provided, raise a ValueError with an appropriate message.

Solución

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¿Todo estuvo claro?

¿Cómo podemos mejorarlo?

¡Gracias por tus comentarios!

Sección 2. Capítulo 5
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