Question

An open-topped train car is moving at a constant speed of 20 mph along a train track. It starts raining and the mass of the train car doubles. What will happen to the train car's momentum?

Answer 1

When the mass of the train car doubles but its speed remains constant, the momentum of the train car also doubles.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, the open-topped train car is moving at a constant speed of 20 mph along a train track, and its mass doubles due to the rain. To understand what happens to the train car's momentum, we need to consider the concept of momentum, which is the product of an object's mass and velocity.

The momentum of an object is directly proportional to both its mass and velocity. Since the mass of the train car doubles but its speed remains constant, the momentum of the train car will also double. This is because the increase in mass outweighs the negligible change in speed.

Therefore, the train car's momentum will double when its mass doubles while moving at a constant speed.