Question

You and your sister are standing next to each other on a skating pond. You have twice the mass that your younger sister has. You and your sister push off of each other. WHat is true about your velocities immediately after the push?

a. Your sister will have a greater velocity because although you experience the same force, your sister will have a greater acceleration due to her lower mass.
b. You will both experience the same velocity afterwards due to the law of conservation of momentum.
c . It would depend on who pushes harder.
d. You will have more velocity than your sister since you have a greater momentum due to your larger mass.

Answer 1

The correct answer is option b. You and your sister will both experience the same velocity immediately after the push due to the law of conservation of momentum.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is option b. You and your sister will both experience the same velocity immediately after the push due to the law of conservation of momentum.

The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a system is constant if no external forces act on it. In this case, when you and your sister push off each other, the total momentum before the push is zero, as the two of you were initially at rest.

So, according to the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum after the push will still be zero, resulting in both you and your sister having the same velocity.