an ice skater with a mass of 80kg pushes off against a second skater with a mass of 32kg. both skaters are initially at rest.

Question

a. what is the total momentum of the system after the push off?
b. if the larger skater moves off with a speed of 3m/s, what is the corresponding speed of the smaller skater?

Answer 1

a. the total momentum is zero, because the momentum vectors are equal and opposite.
b. MV=mv
v= MV/m=80/32 *3m/s

Answer 2

7.5