In a closed system, a ball with a mass of 3 kg and a momentum of 24 kg·m/s collides into a ball with a mass of 1 kg that is originally at rest. Which statement describes the momentum of the balls and the total momentum?(1 point)

Responses

The momentum of each ball changes, and the total momentum changes.
The momentum of each ball changes, and the total momentum changes.

The momentum of each ball changes, and the total momentum stays the same.
The momentum of each ball changes, and the total momentum stays the same.

The momentum of each ball stays the same, and the total momentum changes.
The momentum of each ball stays the same, and the total momentum changes.

The momentum of each ball stays the same, and the total momentum stays the same.

1 answer

In a closed system, the total momentum before and after a collision remains constant.

In this scenario, we have two balls: one with a mass of 3 kg and momentum of 24 kg·m/s (which implies an initial velocity of 8 m/s, since momentum = mass × velocity), and the second ball with a mass of 1 kg that is initially at rest (momentum = 0 kg·m/s).

Before the collision, the total momentum of the system is: \[ \text{Total momentum} = 24 \text{ kg·m/s} + 0 \text{ kg·m/s} = 24 \text{ kg·m/s} \]

After the collision, the momentum of each ball may change due to the interaction, but the total momentum of the system remains 24 kg·m/s.

Therefore, the correct statement is: The momentum of each ball changes, and the total momentum stays the same.