Two air track carts move along an air track towards each other. Cart A has a mass of 450 g and moves toward the right with a speed of 0.850 m/s. Cart B has a mass of 300 g and moves toward the left with a speed of 1.12 m/s. What is the total momentum of the two-cart system?
A) 0.047 kg . m/s toward the right
B) 0.750 kg . m/s toward the right
C) 0.750 kg . m/s toward the left
D) 0.719 kg . m/s toward the right
E) 0.719 kg . m/s toward the left

Question

Two air track carts move along an air track towards each other. Cart A has a mass of  450 g and moves toward the right with a speed of  0.850 m/s. Cart B has a mass of  300 g and moves toward the left with a speed of  1.12 m/s. What is the total momentum of the two-cart system?
A)  0.047 kg . m/s toward the right
B)  0.750 kg . m/s toward the right
C)  0.750 kg . m/s toward the left
D)  0.719 kg . m/s toward the right
E)  0.719 kg . m/s toward the left

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The total momentum of the system can be calculated by adding the momentum of each cart, taking into account their directions. For Cart A, momentum = mass * velocity = 0.450 kg * 0.850 m/s = 0.3825 kg*m/s toward the right. For Cart B, momentum = mass * velocity = 0.300 kg * (-1.12 m/s) = -0.336 kg*m/s (toward the left, hence the negative sign). Adding these, the total momentum = 0.3825 kg*m/s - 0.336 kg*m/s = 0.0465 kg*m/s, which rounds to 0.047 kg*m/s toward the right.

Two Air Track Carts Move Along an Air Track Towards