Final answer:
The total momentum before the collision between Car A and Car B, where Car A is moving and Car B is at rest, is 0.5665 kg·m/s.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about momentum conservation in a collision between two toy cars, one of which is initially at rest.
To calculate the total momentum before the collision, one must apply the principle of conservation of momentum which states that the total momentum of a closed system does not change in the absence of external forces.
Momentum is a vector quantity, given by the product of an object's mass and its velocity (momentum = mass × velocity).
In this case, Car A has a mass of 0.515 kg and moves with a velocity of 1.10 m/s, while Car B has a mass of 0.450 kg and is at rest (velocity of 0 m/s).
Therefore, the momentum of Car A is 0.515 kg × 1.10 m/s = 0.5665 kg·m/s, and the momentum of Car B is 0.450 kg × 0 m/s = 0 kg·m/s. The total momentum before the collision is simply the sum of the momenta of the two cars, which is 0.5665 kg·m/s + 0 kg·m/s = 0.5665 kg·m/s.