A meteor whose mass was about \(1.5 \times {10^8}\;{\rm{kg}}\) struck the Earth \(\left( {{m_{\rm{E}}} = 6.0 \times {{10}^{24}}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right)\) with a speed of about 25 km/s and came to rest in the Earth.

(a) What was the Earth’s recoil speed (relative to Earth at rest before the collision)?

(b) What fraction of the meteor’s kinetic energy was transformed to kinetic energy of the Earth?

(c) By how much did the Earth’s kinetic energy change as a result of this collision?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The results for parts (a), (b), and (c) are\(6.25 \times {10^{ - 16}}\;{\rm{km/s}}\),\(2.5 \times {10^{ - 17}}\), and \(1.17\;{\rm{J}}\), respectively.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the conservation of momentum

In this problem, the meteor striking the Earth and coming to rest is an inelastic collision. The frame of reference of Earth will be used when it is at rest before the collision.

02

Given data

Given data

The mass of the whole meteor is\(m = 1.5 \times {10^8}\;{\rm{kg}}\).

The mass of Earth is\(m' = 6 \times {10^{24}}\;{\rm{kg}}\).

The speed of the meteor is \(v = 25\;{\rm{km/s}}\).

03

Calculate the recoil speed of Earth

The relation to calculate recoil speed can be written as follows:

\(\begin{array}{c}mv = \left( {m + m'} \right)v'\\v' = \frac{{mv}}{{\left( {m + m'} \right)}}\end{array}\)

Here,\(v'\)is the recoil speed of the Earth.

Plugging the values in the above equation,

\(\begin{array}{l}v' = \left[ {\frac{{\left( {1.5 \times {{10}^8}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right)\left( {25\;{\rm{km/s}}} \right)}}{{\left( {\left( {1.5 \times {{10}^8}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right) + \left( {6 \times {{10}^{24}}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right)} \right)}}} \right]\\v' = 6.25 \times {10^{ - 16}}\;{\rm{km/s}}\end{array}\)

Thus, \(v' = 6.25 \times {10^{ - 16}}\;{\rm{km/s}}\) is the required speed of Earth.

04

Calculate the fraction of kinetic energy

The relation to calculate kinetic energy can be written as follows:

\(\frac{{{\rm{KE}}}}{{{\rm{KE'}}}} = \frac{{\frac{1}{2}m'{{v'}^2}}}{{\frac{1}{2}m{v^2}}}\)

Plugging the values in the above equation,

\(\begin{array}{l}\frac{{{\rm{KE}}}}{{{\rm{KE'}}}} = \left[ {\frac{{\frac{1}{2}\left( {6 \times {{10}^{24}}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right)\left( {6.25 \times {{10}^{ - 16}}\;{\rm{km/s}}} \right)}}{{\frac{1}{2}\left( {1.5 \times {{10}^8}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right)\left( {25\;{\rm{km/s}}} \right)}}} \right]\\\frac{{{\rm{KE}}}}{{{\rm{KE'}}}} = 2.5 \times {10^{ - 17}}\end{array}\)

Thus, \(\frac{{{\rm{KE}}}}{{{\rm{KE'}}}} = 2.5 \times {10^{ - 17}}\) is the required fraction of kinetic energy.

05

Calculate the change in kinetic energy

The relation to calculate the change in kinetic energy can be written as follows:

\(\Delta {\rm{KE}} = {\rm{K}}{{\rm{E}}_{\rm{f}}} - {\rm{K}}{{\rm{E}}_{\rm{i}}}\)

Here,\({\rm{K}}{{\rm{E}}_{\rm{i}}}\)and\({\rm{K}}{{\rm{E}}_{\rm{f}}}\)are the initial and final kinetic energies, where the value of initial kinetic energy is zero.

Plugging the values in the above equation,

\(\begin{array}{l}\Delta {\rm{KE}} = \frac{1}{2}m'{{v'}^2} - 0\\\Delta {\rm{KE}} = \frac{1}{2}\left( {6 \times {{10}^{24}}\;{\rm{kg}}} \right){\left( {6.25 \times {{10}^{ - 16}}\;{\rm{km/s}} \times \frac{{1000\;{\rm{m/s}}}}{{1\;{\rm{km/s}}}}} \right)^2}\\\Delta {\rm{KE}} = 1.17\;{\rm{J}}\end{array}\)

Thus, \(\Delta {\rm{KE}} = 1.17\;{\rm{J}}\) is the change in kinetic energy.

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