- #1
TheShapeOfTime
Three Physics 111 AP students, each having a mass of 60kg, climb onto a large flatbed cart that has a mass of 120 kg. Standing at one end and taking turns they run to the opposite end and jump off, one immediately following the other, each with a velocity of 10 m/s with respect to the cart. Calculate the final velocity of the cart and students with respect to the earth.
I know I need to use [itex]m_1v_1 + m_2v_2 = m_1v_1 + m_2v_2[/itex], and I have done a bunch of simpler problems with no trouble. I'm pretty sure this has to be done in steps but I'm not sure how to incorporate the answer of each step into the next. I have something like this for the first step:
[tex]60 \cdot 0 + 120 \cdot 0 = 60 \cdot 10 + 120(v + 10)[/tex]
I know I need to use [itex]m_1v_1 + m_2v_2 = m_1v_1 + m_2v_2[/itex], and I have done a bunch of simpler problems with no trouble. I'm pretty sure this has to be done in steps but I'm not sure how to incorporate the answer of each step into the next. I have something like this for the first step:
[tex]60 \cdot 0 + 120 \cdot 0 = 60 \cdot 10 + 120(v + 10)[/tex]