Two skaters, a man and a woman, are standing on ice. Neglect any friction between the skate blades and the ice. The mass of the man is 86 kg, and the mass of the woman is 51 kg. The woman pushes on the man with a force of 46 N due east. Determine the acceleration (magnitude and direction) of (a) the man and (b) the woman.

(a) = 0.54 m/s^{2} due east

(b) = 0.9 m/s^{2} due west

Explanation:

from the question we are given the following:

mass of the man (Ma) = 86 kg

mass of the woman (Mw) = 51 kg

force (F) = 46 N due east

(a) from force = mass x acceleration

acceleration = / frac{force}{mass}

acceleration = / frac{46}{86}

acceleration = 0.54 m/s^{2} due east

(b) from force = mass x acceleration

acceleration = / frac{force}{mass}

acceleration = / frac{46}{51}

acceleration = 0.9 m/s^{2} due west