Question

Two professional skaters (Joe and Sue) start their routine by pushing off from a facing, stationary pose as shown in figure (a). The kinetic frictional force acting on their skates can be ignored while they are pushing against each other, however once they separate, the force of kinetic friction eventually brings them to a halt. As shown in figure (b), after the push-off, they move in opposite directions with different speeds.

The magnitude of their acceleration is the same, but Sue glides 3 times as far as Joe before coming to rest. Determine the ratio of their masses m_S/m_J.

I need an exact number

Answer 1

Joe

for Sue

As initial momentum of system is zero therefore

Final momentum should also be zero.