Question

Jane is trying to get one of the pink flamingos out of the LSU lake. She has brought her 4 m long canoe (with mass Mc = 30 kg) into the water so that the front edge of the canoe is very close to the flamingo. Jane (with mass mJ ) is standing at the other end of canoe, which is 3 m away from the dock. She then starts to walk in the canoe, towards the flamingo. Ignoring water friction:

a) Qualitatively describe the motion of the system (canoe+ Jane) as Jane walks forward. If initially the canoe is 3m away from the dock, where is Jane with respect to the dock when she reaches the other end of the canoe? (We want a formula in terms of mJ , Mc, and the given starting dimensions)

(b) If mJ = 60 Kg and Mc = 30 Kg and Jane can stretch her arm 1m away the canoe edge, can she reach the flamingo? Also, consider what would happen if the canoe were either much heavier or much lighter than Jane.

Answer 1