Question

In procedure 1, cart 1 and cart 2 are initially at rest, and after the explosion the momentum of the two carts was the same. 2. a) If both carts were moving at some initial speed vi before the explosion: would the momentum of the two carts before the explosion still be equal to the sum of the momenta of the two carts after the explosion? A) yes B) no C) it depends on the initial conditions b) Explain your answer

Answer 1

here,

when the carts are initially at rest

after the explosion

the momentum of the cart is conserved for the system

and the initial momentum is equal to the final momentum

and this is same for initial moving cart

the initial momentum of carts is equal to the final momentum of the carts after the collison

just the magnitude of initial momentum is different from the case when they are at rest

so, corrcet option is a) YES