Cart A (mass 10kg) and cart B (mass= 10kg) are connected by a compressed spring. When the spring is released, cart A has a velocity of 5m/s east. Find:

Question

a. momentum of cart A
b. momentum of cart B
c. velocity of cart B

Answer 1

There should be a figure to go with this question. If there are no other forces acting other than the spring, and the center of mass of the two carts remains fixed, then
a) Momentum of cart A = 10 kg*5 m/s (east) = 50 kg m/s east-50 kg m/s
The minus sign means west.
(c) Cart B momentum divided by 10 kg