Question

3. Two cars, both with a mass of 500 kg, are traveling down a road. The first car has a velocity of 65 m/s east and the second car has a velocity of 85 m/s west. (Chapter 2 – Pages 54-55) a. Calculate the momentum of both cars showing the appropriate equation from your textbook and your work with units in order to receive credit. b. Which car has the larger momentum? Explain how you know.

Answer 1

Answer:

32500 kg m/s east, 42500 kg m/s west. Second car has larger momentum

Explanation:

The momentum of an object is given by

p = mv

where

m is the mass

v is the velocity

For the first car, m = 500 kg and v = 65 m/s east, so the momentum is

$p_1 = (500)(65)=32500 kg m/s$ east

For the second car, m = 500 kg and v = 85 m/s west, so the momentum is

$p_2 = (500)(85)=42500 kg m/s$ west

By comparing the two momentum, we see that the second car has larger momentum.