Two skaters a man and a woman are standing on ice Neglect an

Two skaters, a man and a woman, are standing on ice. Neglect any friction between the skate blades and the ice. The mass of the man is 85 kg, and the mass of the woman is 63 kg. The woman pushes on the man with a force of 55 N due east. Determine the acceleration (magnitude and direction) of (a) the man and (b) the woman.

Solution

Given

mass of woman Mw = 63 kg

mass of man Mm = 85 kg

the force applied by the woman to the east on man is F_W = 55 N

F =ma

a = F/m

a = 55/85 m/s2

a = 0.647 m/s2

acceleration of man is a = 0.647 m/s2

and of woman

F = ma

a = F/m

a = 55/63 m/s2

a = 0.8730 m/s2

so the acceleration of man is a_m = 0.647 m/s2

and acceleration of woman is a_w = 0.8730 m/s2