Question

If a man with a mass of 75 kg, standing still, throws an object with a mass of 5 kg at 30 m/s, what will be the recoil velocity of the man, assuming he is standing on a frictionless surface?

Answer 1

Answer:

2 m/s

Explanation:

Given that,

Mass of a man, m₁ = 75 kg

Mass of object, m₂ = 5 kg

Velocity of the object, v₂ = 30 m/s

We need to find the recoil velocity of the man. Let it is v₁. In the whole process, the momentum of the system will remain conserved such that,

$m_1v_1=m_2v_2\\\\v_1=\dfrac{m_2v_2}{m_1}\\\\v_1=\dfrac{5\times 30}{75}\\\\v_1=2\ m/s$

So, the recoil velocity of the man is 2 m/s