Question

In an experiment, the 1 kg cart collides with a 3 kg cart but doesn’t stick to it. Instead, the 3 kg cart gets knock forward by the 1 kg cart at 0.30m/s, which comes to rest after the collision.

If the positive direction is to the right, what was the initial velocity of the 1.0-kg cart?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Given that,

Mass of the cart,
`m_1=1\ kg`

Mass of the cart 2,
`m_2=3\ kg`

Final speed of cart 2,
`v_2=0.3\ m/s`

Final speed of cart 1 is 0 as it comes to rest.

Let us assume that the initial velocity of the cart 2 is 0. So using the conservation of linear momentum as :

`m_1u_1+m_2u_2=m_1v_1+m_2v_2\\\\m_1u_1+0=0+m_2v_2\\\\m_1u_1=m_2v_2\\\\u_1=(m_2v_2)/(m_1)\\\\u_1=(3* 0.3)/(1)\\\\u_1=0.9\ m/s`

So, the initial velocity of the 1.0-kg cart is 0.9 m/s.