A 4.5-kg ham is thrown into a stationary 15-kg shopping cart. At what speed will the cart travel if the ham had an initial speed of 2.2 m/s? If the ham hits the cart with 2N of force, how long did the collision between the two last?

Answer 1

Use conservation of momentum for the first
question. They expect you to neglect friction. The ham will have to thrown in the direction the cart wheels are pointed.

4.5*2.2 = (4.5 + 15)*Vfinal

For the second question,
Force*Time = final cart momentum
= Vfinal*(15 kg)