Home > Physics > Conservation of Momentum

An astronaut with a mass of #75 kg# is floating in space. If the astronaut throws an object with a mass of #35 kg# at a speed of #5/6 m/s#, how much will his speed change by?

Answer 1

Nathan Ashcroft

Suppose before throwing the object the astronaut has speed #u#, and afterwards has speed #v# #ms^-2#

Prior to:

# {"astronaut (75) and object (35)"} rarr u #

Following;

# { "astronaut (75)" } rarr v # # { "object (35)" } rarr 5/6 #

According to the Linear Momentum Conservation:

# (75+35)(u) = (75)(v) + (35)(5/6) # # :. 110u = 75v + 175/6 # # :. 75v = 110u -175/6 # # :. v = 22/15u - 7/18 #

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Isabella Alvarez

The astronaut's speed will change by approximately 0.6 m/s in the opposite direction.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.