Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A girl of mass stands at one end of a boat of mass and length . The boat is at rest on still water. She walks to the other end. Ignore the drag of the water.
Conservation of momentum. If no outside force acts on a system, its total momentum stays the same:
Bodies that stick together move off with one common velocity.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Given. Girl , boat , boat length ; everything starts at rest.
Plan. No outside force acts along the water, so the total momentum stays zero at every moment. Then the distances moved, times the masses, must balance too.
Step 1. Set up. Let the boat move backward. Relative to the shore, the girl moves forward.
Step 2. Balance. , so , which gives .
Step 3. Solve. , and the girl moves .
Answer: (a) The boat moves backward. (b) The girl moves forward.
Check. and . They balance.
Watch out. The girl does not move the full relative to the shore. That is her distance along the boat, and the boat slides back under her.
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