Question

Suppose your grocery cart is moving at a constant momentum in a straight line down the aisle of a store, without friction. How will the speed change as you drop groceries into the moving cart?

Answer 1

Answer:

It will increase

Explanation:

The kinetic energy is the energy possessed by a moving object and is given by:

KE = $1/2 mv^2$

where m = mass of the object and v = velocity of the object.

It does means that the more the mass of an object in motion, the more the kinetic energy of the object if there are no opposing force such as friction. Also, the more the kinetic energy of the object, the more the speed of that object.

Hence, as the weight of the cart increases by addition of groceries, the kinetic energy increases and the speed also increases as it moves along the frictionless surface.