Equilibrating Momentum: Calculating Velocity for a Compact Electric Vehicle to Match a Big Rig's Momentum

Momentum is given by the product of an object's mass and velocity (momentum = mass * velocity) and is conserved between systems in the absence of external forces. To find the velocity v of the compact electric vehicle, we first find the momentum of the big rig and then solve for v using the mass of the compact electric vehicle. The momentum (p) of the big rig is: p = mass_big_rig * velocity_big_rig p = 61,000 kg * 0.5 m/s p = 30,500 kg*m/s Then, we find the velocity of the compact electric vehicle necessary to achieve this momentum: v = p / mass_compact_vehicle v = 30,500 kg*m/s / 730 kg v = approximately 41.78 m/s So, the compact electric vehicle would need a velocity of about 41.78 m/s to have the same momentum as the big rig.