When Freddy Frog drops vertically from a tree onto a horizontally-moving skateboard, the speed of the skateboard

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When Freddy Frog drops vertically from a tree onto a horizontally-moving skateboard, the momentum of the system (frog + skateboard) is conserved. Since the frog has no horizontal velocity before dropping, the total horizontal momentum of the system after the frog lands on the skateboard is equal to the horizontal momentum of the skateboard before the frog lands. Therefore, the speed of the skateboard must decrease in order to conserve momentum.

When Freddy Frog Drops Vertically from a Tree onto a Horizontally-Moving