A 202 kg bumper car moving right at 8.50 m/s collides with a 365 kg car at rest. Find the total momentum of the system

Answer 1

Momentum is conserved so the initial momentum equals the final momentum which equals

202 x 8.5 + 365 x 0 = 1717 Kg⋅m/s

Answer 2

If friction is negligible, the total momentum of the system before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. The total momentum of the system before collision is 202 kg x 8.50 m/s + 365kg x 0 m/s = 1717 kg-m/s. The total momentum after collision is the same, but the velocities of each car change.