In-class question

Suppose you are on a cart, initially at rest on a track with very little friction. You throw balls at a partition that is rigidly mounted on the cart. If the balls bounce straight back as shown in the figure, is the cart put in motion?

BLUE: Yes, it moves to the right.

GREEN: Yes, it moves to the left.

YELLOW: No, it remains in place.




Physics 2010 home page. Prof. Pollock's home page. Physics Dep't
Send me your comments