A 77-kg fisherman in a 132-kg boat throws a package of mass m = 15 kg horizontally toward the right with a speed of vi = 4.0 m/s as in the figure below. Neglecting water resistance, and assuming the boat is at rest before the package is thrown, find the velocity of the boat after the package is thrown.

Question

anonymous · Answer

This is a conservation of momentum problem where:

$$P_{initial} = P_{Final} -> (M_{Binital} + M_{Pfinitial})V_{Boat-and-Package} = M_{Bfinal}V_{Bfinal} +M_{Pfinal}V_{Pfinal}$$