Question

Consider a gravity-free hall in which a tray of mass M, carrying a cubical block of ice of mass m and edge L, is at rest in the middle (Figure 9-E4). If the ice melts, by what distance does the center of mass of 'the tray plus the ice" system descend?

Answer 1

Thanks for asking the question!

ANSWER::

See figure for better explanation!

As given in the question the hall is gravity free and after the ice melts , it would tend to require a spherical shape . And we can see that there is no external force acting on the system .

So , the centre of mass of the system would not move and will remain at same place.

Hope it helps!

Answer 2

Explanation:

Consider a gravity-free hall where a mass M tray, carrying a cubic block of mass m ice and edge L, is in the middle

As stated in the question, after the ice melts, the hall is gravity-free and would tend to require a spherical shape. And we can see that there is no external force in the system.

So, the system's mass center wouldn't move and stay on the same location.