Question

Two carts (100 g and 150 g) on an air track are separated by a compressed spring. The spring is released. Represent the process with a momentum bar chart (a) with one cart as the system and (b) with both carts as the system. (c) Write expressions for all of the physical quantities you can from this

Answer 1

The momentum bar chart is a tool used to track the changes in momentum of objects in a system over time.

(a) With one cart as the system:

Initial Momentum: m1v1

Final Momentum: m1v1'

Change in Momentum: m1(v1' - v1)

(b) With both carts as the system:

Initial Momentum: m1v1 + m2v2

Final Momentum: m1v1' + m2v2'

Change in Momentum: (m1 + m2)(v1' + v2' - v1 - v2)

The above expressions represent the changes in momentum of the carts, where m1 and m2 are the masses of the carts, v1 and v2 are their initial velocities, and v1' and v2' are their final velocities. The expressions can be used to calculate the net force acting on the carts using Newton's second law, F = Δp/Δt, where Δp is the change in momentum and Δt is the change in time.

Physical quantities that can be calculated from this scenario include the initial and final momentum of the carts, the change in momentum, the net force acting on the carts, and the acceleration of the carts.