Chris and Jane are astronauts floating some distance apart in space. They are joined by a safety cord whose ends are tied around their waists. If Chris starts pulling on the cord, will he pull Jane toward him, will he pull himself toward Jane, or will both astronauts move? Explai
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
If Chris starts pulling on the cord, both astronauts will move toward each other. This happens because of the principle of Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Here’s how it works: When Chris pulls on the cord, he exerts a force on Jane through the cord. According to Newton’s Third Law, Jane will exert an equal and opposite force on Chris. Since there is no external force acting on the system of the two astronauts, the total momentum of the system must remain constant. This means that if Chris pulls on Jane, the system’s momentum will adjust to ensure both astronauts move toward each other in such a way that the total momentum remains unchanged.
In space, where there is no friction or significant external forces, even a small force will cause them to move. The amount of movement each astronaut experiences will depend on their mass. Since Chris and Jane are likely to have different masses, the astronaut with the smaller mass will move more. For example, if Chris is more massive than Jane, Chris will move less toward Jane, while Jane will move more toward him.
In conclusion, both Chris and Jane will move toward each other when Chris pulls on the cord. This is because of the equal and opposite forces they exert on each other, causing both of them to move, though they might not move by the same amount due to differences in their masses.
