A 55-kg person carrying a 5.0-kg ball slides along a horizontal frictionless surface. He tosses the ball perpendicular to his direction of travel relative to himself.

a. his path will not change
b.the ball will have a smaller angle from he original path than he will
c.his speed does not change
d.he speeds up
e. he slows down

d. speeds up

The correct answer is a. his path will not change.

When the person tosses the ball perpendicular to his direction of travel, there are no external forces acting on the system. Since there is no external force, there is no net force acting on the person-ball system.

According to Newton's first law of motion, an object with no net force acting on it will continue to move in a straight line with a constant velocity. In this case, the person's motion will not be affected by the ball toss, and therefore, his path will not change.

Therefore, the correct answer is a. his path will not change.

To determine the correct answer, we need to analyze the conservation of momentum and the forces acting on the person and the ball.

According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the person tosses the ball, the person exerts a force on the ball (action), and in return, the ball exerts an equal and opposite force on the person (reaction).

To find out what happens to the person's path, we need to determine the net force acting on the person after the toss.

Since the surface is frictionless, there is no horizontal force acting on the person-ball system before or after the toss. Therefore, the net force acting on the person in the horizontal direction is zero.

Considering the vertical forces, the person-ball system experiences two forces: the gravitational force (weight) and the reaction force exerted by the surface.

The gravitational force acting on the person-ball system is given by:
F_gravity = (mass of person + mass of ball) * gravitational acceleration
= (55 kg + 5.0 kg) * 9.8 m/s^2
= 588.5 N

The reaction force exerted by the surface on the person-ball system is equal to the gravitational force:
F_reaction = F_gravity
= 588.5 N

After the toss, the person and the ball both move in projectile motion due to the force exerted by the person on the ball. However, since there is no vertical force acting on the person-ball system (horizontal frictionless surface), the vertical motion of the person does not change.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a) his path will not change. The person's speed also remains constant (c) when there is no external force acting on the person-ball system.