---
title: "A person of mass \\(m\\) stands at the bow of a stationary canoe of mass \\(M\\) floating on a calm lake. The person then walks at a constant velocity toward the stern. Assuming drag forces between the water and the canoe are negligible, which of the following statements correctly describes the center of mass of the person-canoe system and provides the correct physical justification?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120707/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T04:42:48+00:00"
---

# A person of mass \(m\) stands at the bow of a stationary canoe of mass \(M\) floating on a calm lake. The person then walks at a constant velocity toward the stern. Assuming drag forces between the water and the canoe are negligible, which of the following statements correctly describes the center of mass of the person-canoe system and provides the correct physical justification?

A person of mass \(m\) stands at the bow of a stationary canoe of mass \(M\) floating on a calm lake. The person then walks at a constant velocity toward the stern. Assuming drag forces between the water and the canoe are negligible, which of the following statements correctly describes the center of mass of the person-canoe system and provides the correct physical justification?

![A two-dimensional side-view diagram of a canoe floating on calm water. The water surface is drawn as a horizontal dashed line across the lower half of the frame. A canoe is drawn as a symmetrical shallow curved hull resting horizontally on the water surface. On the left end of the canoe, a simplified upright stick figure representing a person stands facing to the right. An arrow above the person points horizontally to the right toward the other end of the canoe. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1787460167-DlEIGb.jpg)

- **A.** The center of mass of the system moves toward the stern because the person exerts a forward contact force on the canoe as they walk.
- **B.** The center of mass of the system moves toward the bow because the canoe has a greater inertia than the person.
- **C.** The center of mass of the system remains stationary relative to the water because the net external horizontal force acting on the system is zero.
- **D.** The center of mass of the system remains stationary relative to the water because the friction force between the person and the canoe acts as an external force that maintains equilibrium.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120707/*