Question

You are stuck out on some VERY slippery ice (don’t ask how you got there), so slippery that you can’t walk on it. Fortunately, you have a large rock with you (don’t ask how it got there) which you decide to throw in order to propel yourself across the ice. (You may assume that the rock’s mass is significantly less than yours.)

Which object (the rock or you), if either, has the greater momentum after you throw it? Explain. Which object, if either, has the greater speed after you throw it? Explain.

I'm confused with this conceptual question and would really appreciate the help!

Answer 1

assuming that there is no friction between you and the ice as stated in the question...
when the rock is on your hand..then the momentum of the system containing rosck and you will be zero...

when you through the rock the net momentum will also have to be zero in order to conserve the momentum...hence momentum of the rock and you will be same in magitude but opposite in direction,...

Mu=mv

maas of you are greater than the mass of rock this means the speed of block will be greater than the speed of you...

i hope this will be clear to you.