The Center of mass of the system is not affected by the internal forces. If the external forces add up to zero, then center of mass has no acceleration.
Consider a system of n particles. Now the ith particle will be acted by 2 forces- internal forces due to rest of the (n-1) particles and the external forces. So far the ith particle,
A projectile of mass 5m is projected from ground with velocity 50Ö2 at 450 angle. At the highest point, it explodes into two pieces. One has a mass 4m while other has a mass m. Both pieces fly off in opposite horizontal direction. Mass 4m falls at a distance of 600m from point of projection. Find the distance of second mass from point of projection?
<!–[if !supportLists]–> 1)Why Center of mass follow same path?
Ans: Now if there had been no explosion, the projectile would have landed at 500m from point of projection. Now even if the projectile has exploded, the center of mass must follow same path as no extra force is acting.