Chapter 9, Problem 42AP

Pursued by ferocious wolves, you are in a sleigh with no horses, gliding without friction across an ice-covered lake. You take an action described by the equations

$\begin{array}{c}(270\text{kg})(7.50\text{m}/\text{s})\hat{i}=(15.0\text{kg})(-v_{1f}\hat{i})+(255\text{kg})(v_{2f}\hat{i})\\ v_{1f}+v_{2f}=8.00\text{m}/\text{s}\end{array}$

(a) Complete the statement of the problem, giving the data and identifying the unknowns. (b) Find the values of v_1f and v_2f (c) Find the amount of energy that has been transformed from potential energy stored in your body to kinetic energy of the system.