Question

An ore cart of mass 1200 kg is rolling at a speed of 10.8 m/s across a flat surface. A crane dunks 496 kg of ore into the cart directly above it. How fast does the cart move after being loaded with ore? Assume that frictional forces with the flat surface are negligible.

Answer 1

In order to calculate the new speed of the cart, we can use the formula for conservation of momentum:

`m_1v_1=m_2v_2`

Using m1 = 1200, v1 = 10.8 and m2 = 1696 (that is, 1200 plus 496), we have:

`\begin{gathered} 1200\cdot10.8=1696\cdot v_2 \\ v_2=(1200\cdot10.8)/(1696) \\ v_2=7.64 \end{gathered}`

So the new speed of the loaded cart is 7.64 m/s.