An engineer investigates the performance of an automated sorting shuttle on a horizontal low-friction test track.
The shuttle is launched from a spring-loaded mechanism.
The shuttle has a mass of 0.40 kg0.40\text{ kg}0.40 kg.
The shuttle moves with a velocity of 3.5 m/s3.5\text{ m/s}3.5 m/s immediately after launch.
State the equation linking momentum, mass and velocity.
Calculate the momentum of the shuttle immediately after launch.
The shuttle collides with a stationary package on the track and they couple together. The shuttle and package move away together with a velocity of 1.0 m/s1.0\text{ m/s}1.0 m/s.
Calculate the mass of the package.
The engineer repeats the test using another identical package stacked on top of the first package.
The shuttle is launched with the same velocity as before. The shuttle collides with the two stacked packages and they all couple together.
The engineer claims:
"Because the packages are identical, the combined velocity of the shuttle and the two packages will be the same as when there was only one package."
Discuss whether the engineer's claim is correct or not.
