Question

You’re standing on the shore watching a person with mass m1 = 60 kg stand at the left end of a raft with mass m2 = 160 kg and a length L = 2.5 m. Since the raft is completely uniform, the center of mass of the raft is right in the middle (right?). We’ll say that the origin of our coordinate system is the person’s original location as shown in the drawing. Assume there is no friction or drag between the boat and water. a) What is the location of the center of mass of the raft-and-person system? (You only need to find a value in the x-direction.) b) The person walks to the right edge of the boat and stops there. Has the location of the center of mass of the raft-and-person system changed (compared with its location in part (a))? Explain why your answer makes sense. c) After the person walks to the right edge of the raft, has the raft itself moved? If so, what is the new location of the center of the raft?

Answer 1