Question

Determine the momentum of a system that consists of two objects. One object, m1, has a mass of 12 kg and a velocity of 7.0 m/s towards the east and a second object, m2, has a mass of 5.0 kg and a velocity of 42 m/s in that same direction. What direction is the momentum of the system?

Answer 1

Given

Mass of object 1 is

$m_1=12\text{ kg}$

Velocity is

$v=7.0\text{ m/s}$

Mass of the second object is

$m_2=5.0\text{ kg}$

Velocity is

$v=42\text{ m/s}$

To find

The momentum of the system

Explanation

Momentum is given by

$\begin{gathered} p=m_1v_1+m_2v_2 \\ \Rightarrow p=12\times7+5\times42 \\ \Rightarrow p=294\text{ kgm/s} \end{gathered}$

towards east

Conclusion

The momentum is 294 kgm/s towards east