A cart has a momentum of 10. kilogram meters per second east before a collision and a momentum of 5.0 kilogram meters per second west after the collision. The net charge in momentum of this cart is ?
I am not sure how to solve.
change momentum=final momentum-initial momentum
= m(Vf-Vi)=5W-10E=5W+10W=15kg m/s W
To find the net change in momentum of the cart, we'll first need to determine the initial and final momenta of the cart before and after the collision, respectively.
Given:
Initial momentum, P_initial = 10 kilogram meters per second east
Final momentum, P_final = 5.0 kilogram meters per second west
To determine the net change in momentum, we need to subtract the final momentum from the initial momentum:
Net change in momentum = P_final - P_initial
However, we need to make sure the momenta have the same direction before subtracting. Since the initial momentum is eastward, we need to convert the final momentum to the same direction.
To convert the final momentum to the eastward direction, we can simply change its sign:
P_final (converted) = -5.0 kilogram meters per second west
Now we can calculate the net change in momentum:
Net change in momentum = P_final (converted) - P_initial
= -5.0 kilogram meters per second west - 10 kilogram meters per second east
To sum up opposite directions, we will add the magnitudes of the momenta and assign the direction according to the larger magnitude:
Net change in momentum = 10 kilogram meters per second + 5.0 kilogram meters per second
= 15 kilogram meters per second
So, the net change in momentum of the cart is 15 kilogram meters per second.