Question

A 45.0 kg ice skater stands at rest on the ice. A friend tosses the skater a 5.0 kg ball. The skater and the ball then move backwards across the ice with a speed of 0.5 m/s. What was the speed of the ball at the moment just before the skater caught it?

Answer 1

Answer:

The speed of the ball is 5 m/s.

Explanation:

Given that,

Mass of the ice skater, $m_1=45\ kg$

Mass of the ball, $m_2=5\ kg$

The skater and the ball then move backwards across the ice with a speed of 0.5 m/s. We need to find the speed of the ball at the moment just before the skater caught it. This is a problem of conservation of momentum. Let v is the speed of the ball at the moment just before the skater caught it. So,

$50\times 0.5=5v$

v = 5 m/s

So, the speed of the ball is 5 m/s. Hence, this is the required solution.