Question
A satellite travelled at a speed of 7473 metres per second for 2872 seconds. Use a calculator and the formula below to calculate the distance that the satellite travelled during this time. Give your answer in metres (m) to 3 s.f.
Answer
4.5
(239 Votes)
Sidney
Professional · Tutor for 6 years
Answer
2.15 x 10^7
Explanation
This is simply a problem of kinematics and use of formula from high school physics. The formula used to calculate distance when speed and time are known states that Distance (d) is Speed (s) multiplied by Time (t). So, given:- Speed, s = 7473 m/s- Time, t = 2872 secWe simply need to multiply speed by time to find the distance.So, Distance = 7473 * 2872 = 21,462,456 m which is approximately 2.15 x 10^7 when rounded to 3 significant figures so 2.15 x 10^7 m would be the answer for the distance traveled by the satellite.Remember, this calculation assume no variation in speed or acceleration during travel which itself require an other set of computations.