1) Two identical automobiles have the same speed, one traveling east and one traveling west. Do these cars have the same momentum? Explain.
No. Same car, same mass, same speed, but different velocity.
correct. Momentum is a vector.
1 answer
This means that it takes into account not just the magnitude (speed) of an object, but also the direction in which it is moving (velocity). In this case, the two cars have the same speed but are moving in opposite directions (east and west). Therefore, their momenta are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction, so they do not have the same momentum overall.