Two people are standing on a 3.19-m-long platform, one at eachend. The platform

Question

Two people are standing on a 3.19-m-long platform, one at eachend. The platform floats parallel to the ground on a cushion ofair, like a hovercraft. The two people, the platform and a 3.16-kgball are all initially at rest. One person throws the 3.16-kg ballto the other, who catches it. The ball travels nearly horizontally.Excluding the ball, the total mass of the platform and people is194 kg. Because of the throw, this 194-kg mass recoils. How fardoes the platform move before coming to rest again?

Explanation / Answer

    While the ball is in motion, we have     M V + m v = 0     where M is the combined mass of the platform andthe two people, V is the recoil velocity of the platform, m is themass     of the ball, and v is the velocity ofthe ball.        the distance that the platform moves is givenby     x = V t

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