Their velocity afterwards is 2.88 m/s east
Explanation:
We can solve this problem by using the law of conservation of momentum. In fact, for an isolated system (= no external force), the total momentum must be conserved before and after the collision. So we can write:
where: in this case:
is the mass of the first player
is the initial velocity of the first player (choosing east as positive direction)
is the mass of the second player
is the initial velocity of the second player
is their combined velocity afterwards
Solving for v, we find:
And the sign is positive, so the direction is east.
Learn more about momentum here:
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