A uniform 2.00-m-long stick is raised at an angle of 30° to the horizontal above a sheet of ice. The bottom end of the stick rests on the ice. The stick is released from rest. The bottom end of the stick remains in contact with the ice at all times. How far will the bottom end of the stick have traveled during the time the rest of the stick is falling to the ice? Assume that the ice is frictionless.

Answer 1

There are no horizontal forces on the stick so the center of mass of the stick will not move sideways.
Therefore the middle of the stick will end up exactly below where it started.
The end of the stick will move a little because now the stick is flat on the ice.
It will be one meter from the center instead of 1 cos 30 horizontally.