Subject
Home
/
Physics
/
020 10.0 Points A(n) 65 .6 Kg Astronaut Becomes Separated from the Shuttle While on a Space Walk. She Finds Herself 721 M Away from the

Question

020 10.0 points A(n) 65 .6 kg astronaut becomes separated from the shuttle while on a space walk. She finds herself 721 m away from the shuttle and moving with zero speed relative to the shuttle. She has a(n) 0.675 kg camera in her hand and decides to get back to the shuttle by throwing the camera at a speed of 12m/s in the direction away from the shuttle. How long will it take for her to reach the

Answer

4 (232 Votes)
Verificación de expertos
Thomas Expert · Tutor for 3 years

Answer

582

Explanation

This astronaut's situation can be seen as a physics problem falling under the category of conservation of momentum. The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a system of particles is constant if no external forces are acting upon it.As initially the total momentum of the astronaut and camera is zero (since they are both at rest), the total momentum will remain zero even after throwing the camera. This is expressed using the fact that momentum is the product of mass and velocity and is a vector quantity. The resulting equation is (65.6 kg * 0) + (0.675 kg * 12 m/s) = 0 in the direction away from the shuttle (by virtue of it being negative). Simplifying the left hand brings us to 0 + 8.1 kg*m/s. Hence, the astronaut will move towards the shuttle with equivalent momentum but in the opposite direction. Revering the equation, we get velocity = -8.1/65.6 = -0.1235 m/s in decimal, where '-' sign indicates the direction opposite to which we assumed positive.The time to reach the shuttle can then be calculated by dividing her distance from the shuttle by her velocity. So time = 72.1m / 0.1235 m/s. Giving this in minutes we get the answer converting is to 582 minutes. Hence, it would take almost 582 minutes for the astronaut to reach the space shuttle throwing the camera out in the way opposite to the direction of the shuttle. In other words, by throwing the camera away from the shuttle, the astronaut propelled herself towards the shuttle. The time it will take for her to reach the shuttle depends on the speed to which the action propelled her.