A 20 kg shopping cart moving at a velocity of 0.5 m/s collides with a store wall and stops. The momentum of the shopping cart
decreases?
It is irrelevant to the question. The momentum of the cart is not conserved, because a force of impact is applied to it. The momentum of the cart PLUS wall is also not conserved, because of stress forces applied at the base of the wall.
yes; the momentum becomes zero. That is a reduction
what would it mean if i say
the momentum is conserved?
ok, i was just wondering since that was one of my choices
thanks
In this scenario, the momentum of the shopping cart does not decrease. Instead, it remains constant before and after the collision with the wall. This is because, according to the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum of an isolated system remains constant unless acted upon by external forces.
To calculate the momentum of an object, you can use the formula:
Momentum (p) = mass (m) × velocity (v)
Given that the mass of the shopping cart is 20 kg and its velocity is 0.5 m/s, we can calculate its initial momentum before the collision:
Initial momentum = 20 kg × 0.5 m/s = 10 kg⋅m/s
After the collision, when the shopping cart comes to a stop, its final velocity becomes 0 m/s. However, the mass remains the same. Therefore, the final momentum is:
Final momentum = 20 kg × 0 m/s = 0 kg⋅m/s
So, the momentum of the shopping cart remains constant but changes its direction, as it goes from a positive value to zero.