Question

a 24 kg child on a 3.2 kg sled is sliding at 6.0 m/s. as the sled passes underneath a tree, a 5.2 kg mass of snow falls vertically and lands on the moving sled. calculate the final velocity of the sled. Can some one show me how to do this? not just the answer but how???

Answer 1

The momentum before the snow is added is p = mv = (24+3.2 kg)*(6.0 m/s) = 163.2 kg-m/s.
After the snow is added, the new mass is 24+3.2+5.2 = 32.4 kg
Since momentum is conserved, the new velocity is:
163.2 kg-m/s = (32.4 kg)*v_final
v_final = 5.037 m/s