I believe I am on the right track for this problem but I confused as to where I should go from here.
Q:A railroad flat car of weight W can roll without friction, left or right along a straight
horizontal track. Initially a woman of weight w is standing on the car, which is
moving to the right with speed V0 . What is the change in velocity of the car
(magnitude and direction) if the woman runs to the left so that her speed relative to
the car is Vrel just before she jumps off at the left end?

Question

I believe I am on the right track for this problem but I confused as to where I should go from here.
Q:A railroad flat car of weight W can roll without friction, left or right along a straight
horizontal track. Initially a woman of weight w is standing on the car, which is
moving to the right with speed V0 . What is the change in velocity of the car
(magnitude and direction) if the woman runs to the left so that her speed relative to
the car is Vrel just before she jumps off at the left end?

anonymous · Answer

attachment

rhystic · Answer

you messed up your change in momentum. You equated the momentum before her jumping as being equal to as her after jumping. Regardless if you use her as the frame of reference, the box car, or an outside view the two momentums would not be equal to each other.