How Does a Canoe Move When You Walk in It?

[perfectlovehe]

A man with a mass of 65 kg stands up in a 64-kg canoe of length 4.0 m floating on water. He walks from a point 0.75 m from the back of the canoe to a point 0.75 m from the front of the canoe. Assume negligible friction between the canoe and the water. How far does the canoe move? (Assume the canoe has a uniform density such that its center of mass location is at the center of the canoe.)

 

[rl.bhat]

Since there is no external force acting on the canoe, the center of mass remains at rest.

In two cases the center of mass from the back of canoe are

\frac{65*0.75 + 64*2}{65 + 64} = \frac{65*1.5 + 64(2-x)}{65+64}

Now solve for x.

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