Center of Mass boat distance from shore what am I doing wrong?

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SUMMARY

The problem involves calculating the new distance from shore when a man moves from the back to the front of a symmetrical rowboat. The boat has a mass of 116 kg and a length of 6.89 m, while the man weighs 90 kg and initially stands 35.7 m from the shore. The center of mass calculations show that when the man moves forward, the displacement is 3.01 m, indicating that the new distance from the shore should be 32.69 m, not 38.7 m. The error in the original calculation stemmed from incorrectly assuming the man moved away from the shore instead of towards it.

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sweetpete28
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Problem: A symmetrical rowboat, mass M = 116 kg, length L = 6.89 m, points toward the shore. A man, mass m = 90 kg, stands in the back of the boat, distance d = 35.7 m from the shore. If the man now walks to the front of the boat, how far will he be from the shore?

Here is what I did:

Selected 0 as origin at shoreline:

Center of mass when man is in back of boat = [(90)(6.89) + (116)(3.445)] / (90 + 116) = 4.95 meters

When man is in front of boat he is distance d from shore and boat is distance d + 3.445:
Center of mass = [90d + 116(d + 3.445)] / (90 + 116) = 4.95
d = 3.01; so when man moves from back to front displacement is 3.01 m

So distance from shore is 35.7 + 3.01 = 38.7 m. But this answer is wrong. So what am I doing wrong?



Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution

 
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sweetpete28 said:
Problem: A symmetrical rowboat, mass M = 116 kg, length L = 6.89 m, points toward the shore. A man, mass m = 90 kg, stands in the back of the boat, distance d = 35.7 m from the shore. If the man now walks to the front of the boat, how far will he be from the shore?

Here is what I did:

Selected 0 as origin at shoreline:

Center of mass when man is in back of boat = [(90)(6.89) + (116)(3.445)] / (90 + 116) = 4.95 meters

When man is in front of boat he is distance d from shore and boat is distance d + 3.445:
Center of mass = [90d + 116(d + 3.445)] / (90 + 116) = 4.95
d = 3.01; so when man moves from back to front displacement is 3.01 m

So distance from shore is 35.7 + 3.01 = 38.7 m. But this answer is wrong. So what am I doing wrong?



Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


The man was walking towards the shore, not away from the shore, so he will be closer that 35.7, not further.
 

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