I'm stuck on problem 9-6. I don't even know where to begin. Could you give some info on how to start.
OK, here are two hints:
(1) assume that the mass of the pole is negligible.
(2) as there are no external forces acting on the system, the acceleration of the center of mass must be zero. As the initial velocity of the center of mass is also zero, this means that the center of mass does not move.