Question

two hockey players, jack and jill, are standing face - to - face and stationary on the ice. jack has a mass of 72.5 kg. jill has a mass of 65.3 kg. jill shoves jack. which statement below best represents the skaters momenta after the shove? jacks and jills momenta are both in the same direction after the shove. the magnitude of jills momentum is greater than the magnitude of jacks momentum after the shove. the momenta of the skaters after the shove are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. the momenta of the skaters after the shove are equal in magnitude and in direction.

Explanation:

According to the law of conservation of momentum, in the absence of external forces (assuming ice is frictionless), the total initial momentum is zero (both are stationary). After the shove, the sum of their momenta must still be zero. So \(p_{Jack}+p_{Jill} = 0\), which implies \(p_{Jack}=-p_{Jill}\). This means their momenta are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.

Answer:

The momenta of the skaters after the shove are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.