- #1
Erwin Schrodinger
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A 120kg astronaut stands on the surface of an asteroid of radius 600m. The astrunaut leaves the surface with 15J of kinetic energy and reaches a maximum height of 300m above the surface. What is the mass of the asteroid? (Answer: 3.4*1012kg)
At the maximum height, all of the kinetic energy becomes potential gravitational energy.
EK = Epg
15 = Gmm'/r
15 = 6.67*10-11*120*m'/(300+600)
1.7*1012kg = m'
I think there's an error in the calculation somewhere because my answer is exactly half the correct answer but I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
At the maximum height, all of the kinetic energy becomes potential gravitational energy.
EK = Epg
15 = Gmm'/r
15 = 6.67*10-11*120*m'/(300+600)
1.7*1012kg = m'
I think there's an error in the calculation somewhere because my answer is exactly half the correct answer but I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.