can anyone answr this, why is it possible for a big mass like a train to have momentum equal to that of a car?

Answer 1

momentum is product of mass and its velocity. if the train is slow and the car fast both would have the same momentum. cause the train is heavier than the car.

Answer 2

The Linear Momentum of a body is the product of its mass (m) and velocity (v).
So, momentum is affected by both the body's mass and the body's velocity. A body with a big mass like that of a train could be moving at a very slow rate such that its momentum equals the momentum of a car whose mass is lesser than the train but could be moving at a much faster rate as to make its momentum equal to the momentum of the train.

teddyboy

Answer 3

Momentum = mass times velocity.
If the train is moving at a very slow speed, say 1 mph, then a fast moving car could equal the momentum of the train.

Answer 4

Just have the train move much more slowly than the car. Momentum is not the same as inertia. Even if the train is standing still and has zero momentum, and a car moving fast slams into the train, the car will be destroyed and the train will barely budge. Momentum isn't everything. Sometimes just having more mass is what is important.

Answer 5

No, if I read this correctly, the car ways say 2 tons. the train weighs in at say 100 tons. the laws of inertia say that a moving object will stay moving unless acted upon be an opposing force the car , doing the same speed as the train will stop in a very short distance in comparison to the train as if the train has the same braking force as the car, the 2 ton car will stop in a distance of say 200 yards. The train with its mass 50 times bigger would probably need 10,000 yards or almost 2 miles

Answer 6

momentum is mass X velosity, A train can have the same momentum as a car if the train (that has much more mass) is moving very slowly and the car (which has less mass) is moving very quickly.

Answer 7

Mass M and m traveling at v and V velocities respectively will have momenta P = Mv and p = mV.

If their momenta are equal, we have P = Mv = mV = p; so that V = (M/m)v. And there's your answer.

A big train M can have a momentum equal to a car m if and only if the velocity of the car V is way bigger (M/m) than the velocity of the train v. QED.

Answer 8

Little mass x big speed = big mass x little speed !