Two ice skaters push off against one another starting from a stationary position. the 45.0-kg skater acquires a speed of 0.375 m/s. what speed does the 60.0-kg skater acquire? assume that any other unbalanced forces during the collision are negligible.

The speed of the 60.0 kg skater should be 0.281 m/s

Explanation:

Step 1: Data given

Mass of skater 1 = 45.0 kg

speed of skater 1 = 0.375 m/s

Mass of skater 2 = 60.0 kg

Step 2: Calculate the speed of skater 2

To solve this problem, we will use 'Conservation of momenton'. This means  the momentum before the push equals the momentum after.

momentum p = m*v

Momentum p(before) = momentum p(after)

m1*v1 = m2 * v2

⇒ with m1 = mass of skater 1 = 45.0 kg

⇒ with v1 = the velocity of skater 1 = 0.375 m/s

⇒ with m2 = the mass of skater 2 = 60.0 kg

⇒ with v2 = the velocity of skater 2 = TO BE DETERMINED

45.0 * 0.375 = 60.0 * v2

v2 = (45.0*0.375)/60

v2 = 0.281 m/s

The speed of the 60.0 kg skater should be 0.281 m/s