The Starship Enterprise (m= 3.9 x 10^9) is traveling at 3 x 10^8 when it slams into earth which has a mass of 6.0 x 10^24. What is the velocity of Earth if the enterprise sticks to it?
2006-11-14 13:31:16 · 3 answers · asked by alp f 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The Starship enterprise mass is 3.9 x 10^9 Kg its speed is 3 x 10^8 m/s earth's mass is 6 x 10^ 24 Kg
2006-11-14 13:39:53 · update #1
ms = Mass of Starship Enterprise
vs = Velocity of Starship Enterprise
me = Mass of Earth
ve = Velocity of Earth
m1 = new mass
v1 = new velocity
m1*v1 = me*ve + ms*vs
since the velocity of earth is 0, me*ve = 0
Therefore:
m1*v1 = ms*vs
and since m1 = ms + me
we have
v1 = (ms*vs) / (ms + me)
As long as the units are consistent, this is your answer.
2006-11-14 19:18:19 · answer #1 · answered by tavla6611 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the speed of light = 299 792 458 m / s
2006-11-14 22:36:26 · answer #2 · answered by meg 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Impossible to answer since you didn't provide any units.
2006-11-14 21:33:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋