Car A is moving to the right with a speed of 15 m/s and car B is moving to the left with a speed of 4.6 m/s. Both cars have a mass of 920 kg. What is the total momentum of the system consisting of cars A and B? (You may define positive direction to be to the right)

Answer 1

The momentum of an object is defined as the product of its mass and velocity.

The momentum of car A is given by:
momentum_A = mass_A * velocity_A = 920 kg * 15 m/s = 13,800 kg·m/s

The momentum of car B is given by:
momentum_B = mass_B * velocity_B = 920 kg * (-4.6 m/s) = -4,232 kg·m/s

The total momentum of the system is the sum of the individual momenta:
Total momentum = momentum_A + momentum_B = 13,800 kg·m/s + (-4,232 kg·m/s) = 9,568 kg·m/s

Therefore, the total momentum of the system consisting of cars A and B is 9,568 kg·m/s.