Question

Ken and Joanne are astronauts floating some distance apart in space. They are joined by a safety cord whose ends are tied around their waists. If Ken starts pulling on the cord, will he pull Joanne toward him, or will he pull himself toward Joanne? Explain what happens.

Answer 1

The will move toward each other.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Ken applies a force on the rope connected to Joanne, Joanne will move as she is being acted upon by an external force and must experience a change in motion according to Newton's first law which in this case is her movement in direction of the force being applied by Ken as he is pulling on it. Ken will also experience a change in motion as the reaction to his force must be of an equal magnitude and in the opposite direction so Ken will move towards Joanne.