Answer:
The velocity of the freight car decreases.
Explanation:
This question is answered by the conservation of momentum principle.
When the freight car is moving at a certain speed, it has a constant momentum.
We will call this M1.
The equation for M1 will be:
M1 = Mass * Speed
Now when the coal is dumped into the freight car, the Mass increases.
Since conservation of momentum states that the momentum will remain the same. We have:
M1 = (Mass of freight + Mass of coal) * Speed
Since M1 is constant, if the mass increases, the speed had to decrease to keep the equation true.
