Question

1. (15 points) Small cart is rolling down an inclined track and accelerating. It fires a ball straight out of the cannon as it moves. After it is fired, what happens to the ball? Does it fall back to the incline behind the cart, right into the cart or in front of the incline? Explain your reasoning conceptually.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

This problem can be solved with the conservation of the momentum.

If the ball is fired upward, the momentum before and after the ball is fired must conserve. Hence, the speed of the ball is the same that the speed of the car just in the moment in wich the ball is fired.

Hence, the result depends of the acceleration of the car. If the change in the speed is higher than the speed of the ball, it is probably that the ball will be behind the car or it will come back to the car.

If the ball is fired forward, and if the change in the speed of the car is not enogh, the ball will be in front of the car.

HOPE THIS HELPS!!