Question

Polly Ester and Ray Ahn are doing the Elastic Collision lab on a low-friction track. Cart A has a mass of 1.00 kg and is moving rightward at 27.6 cm/s prior to the collision with Cart B. Cart B has a mass of 0.50 kg and is moving leftward with a speed of 42.9 cm/s. After the magnetic repulsion of the two carts, Cart A is moving leftward at 10.1 cm/s. Determine the post-collision speed and direction of cart B in cm/s. Answer: ________ cm/s

Answer 1

Answer:

32.5 cm/s

Explanation:

From the law of conservation of momentum, the sum of initial momentum equals the sum of final momentum

Momentum, p=mv where m is the mass and v is the velocity

$m_1v_1+m_2v_2=(m_1v_2+m_3v_4)$

Let right direction be positive while left negative hence

1*27.6+(0.5*-42.9)=1*-10.1+0.5v

16.25=0.5v

v=16.25/0.5=32.5 cm/s in the right direction