In: Physics
Two ice skaters, with masses of 50.0 kg and 65.0 kg , are at the center of a 30.0 m -diameter circular rink. The skaters push off against each other and glide to opposite edges of the rink.
If the heavier skater reaches the edge in 10.0 s , how long does the lighter skater take to reach the edge?
Initially both the skaters are at rest, the total initial momentum of the two skaters is zero
After the push, the heavier skater travel from the centre of the rink to the the edge of the rink. He travelled distance equal to the radius (15m) of the rink in 10 seconds. The speed of the heavier skater is
Let v be the velocity of the lighter skater after the push. The momentum of the two skaters after the push is
Assuming the force of friction on the skaters is negligible. The momentum of the two-skaters system is conserved.
The negative sign represents that the lighter skater moves in opposite direction to the the heavier skater.
The time taken by the lighter skater to reach the edge of the rink is