Two figure skaters are coasting in the same direction, with the leading skater moving at 4.7 m/s and the trailing skater moving at 5.7 m/s. When the trailing skater catches up with the leading skater, he picks her up without applying any horizontal forces on his skates. If the trailing skater is 40% heavier than the 50 kg leading skater, what is their speed (in m/s) after he picks her up?

Answer 1

conserve momentum. Note that the actual value of m does not matter, since we have the relative masses.

1.4m*5.7 + m*4.7 = 2.4m*v
7.98+4.7 = 2.4v
v = 5.28 m/s

Answer 2

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