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When an athlete's angular momentum is conserved, the athlete's angular ________ increases or decreases in relation to changes in the distribution of the athlete's mass.

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Final answer:

When an athlete's angular momentum is conserved, the athlete's angular velocity increases or decreases in relation to changes in the distribution of the athlete's mass.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an athlete's angular momentum is conserved, the athlete's angular velocity increases or decreases in relation to changes in the distribution of the athlete's mass.

This is because angular momentum is defined as the product of moment of inertia and angular velocity, and when no external torque is applied to the system, the initial angular momentum is equal to the final angular momentum.

Therefore, if the moment of inertia decreases (e.g., when the athlete brings in their limbs), the angular velocity must increase in order to conserve angular momentum.

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