The drawing shows three particles that are moving with different velocities. Two of the particles have mass m, and the third has a mass 2m. The third particle has a velocity of v3 = +5.1 m/s. At the instant shown, the center of mass (cm) of the three particles is at the coordinate origin. What is the velocity vcm (magnitude and direction) of the center of mass?

Answer 1

The velocity of the center of mass (vcm) is 0 m/s, since the center of mass is at the coordinate origin.