A mine car (mass 380 kg) rolls at a speed of 0.5 m/s on a horizontal track, as the drawing shows. A 150 kg chunk of coal has a speed of 0.80 m/s when it leaves the chute. Determine the velocity of the car/coal system after the coal has come to rest in the car.

Answer 1

momentum is conserved. Final momentum is masscoal*.8 +minecarmass*.5=(totalmass)v
solve for v