Two students stand on frictionless ice and push against each other so that they slide…
PHYSICS · Single correct · CBSE · Physics · Laws of Motion · Laws of Motion
Problem
Two students stand on frictionless ice and push against each other so that they slide apart. Which statement best describes the conservation of linear momentum during the push?
(a) The momentum of each student and of the pair together are both conserved because no horizontal forces act.
(b) The momentum of each individual student is not conserved, but the momentum of the two-student system is conserved because the forces are internal to that system.
(c) The students exert equal and opposite forces, so the momentum of each student is conserved, but the total momentum of the pair can change.
(d) Neither the momentum of each student nor of the pair together is conserved because the normal forces from the ice act on them.