Question:
A sailor jumps out from a small boat to the shore as shown in the given figure. As the sailor jumps forward, will the boat move? If yes, in which direction and why.
Answer:
Verified
Yes, the boat will move and in the backward direction.
When the sailor jumps forward, he pushes the boat backward with his feet. According to Newton's third law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, the boat moves in the opposite direction to the sailor's jump, i.e., backward in the water.
