Question

Two friends on roller-skates are standing 5 m apart facing each other. One of them throws a ball of 2 kg towards the other, who catches it, How will this activity affect the position of the two? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

The separation between the two friends will increase.

Initially, when both are at rest, the momentum of each one is zero, In order to conserve momentum, the person who throws the ball will move backwards and the person receiving the ball will also move in the direction of the force, that is, backwards. This causes increase in the separation between the two.