A 0.105-kg hockey puck moving at 24 m/s is caught and held by a 75-kg goalie at rest. With what speed does the goalie slide on the ice after catching the puck?

1 Answer
Feb 14, 2017

The goalie slides with a speed of 0.034 m/s after catching the puck. Use conservation of momentum to solve this question.

Explanation:

The momentum of the puck before it is caught:

#p_(puck) = 24 \ m s^-1 times 0.105 \ kg = 2.52\ kg \ m s^-1.#

After catching the puck, all the momentum is transferred to the goalie. Using conservation of momentum:

#Speed \ of \ goalie = (2.52\ kg \ m s^-1)/(75kg + 0.105kg).#

Notice that as the goalie caught the puck, their combined mass is used for the final momentum calculation.

#Speed \ of \ goalie = (2.52\ kg \ m s^-1)/(75.105 \ kg).#

#Speed \ of \ goalie ~= 0.034 \ m s^-1.#

The goalie slides with a speed of 0.034 m/s after catching the puck.