Two carts on a frictionless AIR Track held together then released with a sping.

AI Thread Summary
When the two carts, with cart 'a' being three times the mass of cart 'b', are released from being held together by a spring on a frictionless air track, they will move apart due to the spring's force. Cart 'b' will accelerate faster and travel further than cart 'a' because it has less mass, resulting in a greater acceleration according to Newton's second law. The discussion highlights the relevance of conservation of momentum and Newton's third law, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Participants also humorously misread "carts" as "cats," adding a light-hearted element to the conversation. Overall, the focus remains on understanding the dynamics of the system post-release.
SharpCode
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Homework Statement


Two carts 'a' and 'b' are floating on a frictionless air-track and are stationary. 'a' is three times the mass of 'b'. They are being held together and there is a spring between them. The carts are released. Describe what happens after the release.


Homework Equations


Im guessing the usual Kinetic Energy equations are relevant here


The Attempt at a Solution


Well not sure if i am on to something but cart B will definitely go further than cart A as it weighs less and the acceleration of Cart B will be significantly quicker too. But i am confused with the forces acting on them in this situation. It says to describe only but want to know a bit more detail if possible.
 
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I am very tired and read this message as "two (cats) on a frictionless AIR Track held together then released with a spring", and had a good laugh, thinking if they were alive or dead.

LOL
 
I thought i had misspelled something for a second :p
 
You did "spring" not sping.

Oh, Carts not Cats... LOL

I suppose none of this is helping to answer your questions though...sorry about that.
Of-coarse it is getting your question viewed by bumping it up in the new messages.
 
You could apply conservation of momentum here. Also, that whole 'for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction' thing could help with figuring out the forces on each.
 
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