Car A is moving to the right with a speed of 15 m/s and car B is moving to the left with a speed of 4.6 m/s. Both cars have a mass of 920 kg. What is the total momentum of the system consisting of cars A and B? (You may define positive direction to be to the right)
The momentum of an object is defined as the product of its mass and velocity.
The momentum of car A is given by:
momentum_A = mass_A * velocity_A = 920 kg * 15 m/s = 13,800 kg·m/s
The momentum of car B is given by:
momentum_B = mass_B * velocity_B = 920 kg * (-4.6 m/s) = -4,232 kg·m/s
The total momentum of the system is the sum of the individual momenta:
Total momentum = momentum_A + momentum_B = 13,800 kg·m/s + (-4,232 kg·m/s) = 9,568 kg·m/s
Therefore, the total momentum of the system consisting of cars A and B is 9,568 kg·m/s.