Let m be the mass of the second car, so the first car's mass is 2m.
Let K be the kinetic energy of the second car, so the first car's kinetic energy would be K/2.
Let u and v be the speeds of the first car and the second car, respectively. At the start,
• the first car has kinetic energy
K/2 = 1/2 (2m) u ² = mu ² ==> K = 2mu ²
• the second car starts with kinetic energy
K = 1/2 mv ²
It follows that
2mu ² = 1/2 mv ²
==> 4u ² = v ²
When their speeds are both increased by 2.76 m/s,
• the first car now has kinetic energy
1/2 (2m) (u + 2.76 m/s)² = m (u + 2.76 m/s)²
• the second car now has kinetic energy
1/2 m (v + 2.76 m/s)²
These two kinetic energies are equal, so
m (u + 2.76 m/s)² = 1/2 m (v + 2.76 m/s)²
==> 2 (u + 2.76 m/s)² = (v + 2.76 m/s)²
Solving the equations in bold gives u ≈ 1.95 m/s and v ≈ 3.90 m/s.
