Cart A (mass 10kg) and cart B (mass= 10kg) are connected by a compressed spring. When the spring is released, cart A has a velocity of 5m/s east. Find:
a. momentum of cart A
b. momentum of cart B
c. velocity of cart B
I will be happy to critique your thinking.
The initial momentum is zero, so the sum of car A and carB must be zero. You are given momentum of Car A (mass*volume)
To find the momentum of an object, we use the formula:
Momentum = mass * velocity
a. The momentum of cart A can be found by multiplying its mass (10 kg) by its velocity (5 m/s east):
Momentum of cart A = 10 kg * 5 m/s = 50 kg·m/s east
b. Since the carts are connected, the total momentum of the system is conserved. Therefore, the momentum of cart B should be equal to the momentum of cart A, but in the opposite direction. So the momentum of cart B would also be 50 kg·m/s, but in the opposite direction (west).
Momentum of cart B = -50 kg·m/s west
c. To find the velocity of cart B, we can use the formula:
Momentum = mass * velocity
Now, since we know the momentum of cart B (-50 kg·m/s), we can rearrange the formula to solve for velocity:
Velocity of cart B = Momentum of cart B / Mass of cart B
Plugging in the numbers:
Velocity of cart B = (-50 kg·m/s) / 10 kg = -5 m/s west
So, the velocity of cart B is -5 m/s west.