Turn the argument around. If the object falls to the Earth starting from rest a great distance away, what is the speed with which it will hit the upper atmosphere? (Actually, a comet or asteroid coming from a long distance away might well have an even larger speed, due to its interaction with the sun.) Small objects vaporize as they plunge through the atmosphere, but a very large object can penetrate and hit the ground at very high speed. Such a massive impact is thought to have killed off the dinosaurs.

Short Answer

Expert verified

The object will hit the Earth's upper atmosphere with speed 1.12×104m/s.

Step by step solution

01

Given Data

In a closed system, i.e., a system that is isolated from its surroundings, the total energy of the system is conserved.

02

Definition of Energy conservation law

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. Although, it may be transformed from one form to another. If you take all forms of energy into account, the total energy of an isolated system always remains constant. All the forms of energy follow the law of conservation of energy. In brief, the law of conservation of energy states that

In a closed system, i.e., a system that is isolated from its surroundings, the total energy of the system is conserved.

03

Determine the speed of the object

If an object needs to have speed1.12×104m/s in order to leave the Earth and go far away, then, according to the Energy conservation law, the object goes from very far away and is falling to the Earth, it will hit the upper atmosphere with the same speed1.12×104m/s.

Therefore, according to the energy conservation law, the object will hit the Earth's upper atmosphere with speed 1.12×104m/s.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Refer to figure 6.86. Calculate the change in electric energy along the two different paths in moving charge away from charge Qfrom A to B along a radial path, then to C along a circle centered on , then to D along a radial path. Also calculate the change in energy in going directly from A to D along a circle centered at Q. Specifically. What are UB-UA,UC-UB,UD-UCand their sum? What is UD-UA? Also, calculate the round-trip difference in the electrical energy when moving charge along the path from A to B to C to D to A

A ball of massfalls downward, as shown in Figure 6.82. Initially you observe it to beabove the ground. After a short time it is just about to hit the ground.

(a) During this interval how much work was done on the ball by the gravitational force? (b) Does the kinetic energy of the ball increase or decrease?

(c) The ball hits the ground and bounces back upward, as shown in Figure 6.83. After a short time it isabove the ground again. During this second interval (between leaving the ground and reaching a height of) how much work was done on the ball by the gravitational force? (d) Does the kinetic energy of the ball increase or decrease?

A particle moves inside a circular glass tube under the influence of a tangential force of constant magnitude F (Figure 6.78). Explain why we cannot associate a potential energy with this force. How is this situation different from the case of a block on the end of a string, which is swung in a circle?

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A0.5kg teddy bear is nudged off a window sill and falls 2m to the ground. (a) What is the kinetic energy at the instant it hits the ground? What is its speed? What assumptions or approximations did you make in this calculation?

(b) A 1.0kg flowerpot is nudged off a window sill and falls 2m to the ground. What is the kinetic energy at the instant it hits the ground? What is its speed? How do the speed and kinetic energy compare to that of the teddy bear in part (a)?

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