- #1
TinaMarie
- 2
- 0
Ok, so the question is:
A 27-pound meteorite struck a car and created a dent about 22cm deep. If the initial speed of the meteorite was 550m/s, what was the average force exerted on the meteorite by the car?
Since this question is in the work/kinetic energy chapter I assumed I'd have to use:
W = 1/2mvf2 - 1/2mvi2 to find the work done and then use the equation:
W = F*x , solving for F using W from the above equation and x = 22cm
BUT then I realized the question was asking what force did the CAR exert on the METEORITE..and that's why I'm confused. Because solving it the way I originally thought would give me the force exerted by the METEORITE on the CAR, right? So now I have no idea what to do! Any hints/suggestions would be great! Thanks!
A 27-pound meteorite struck a car and created a dent about 22cm deep. If the initial speed of the meteorite was 550m/s, what was the average force exerted on the meteorite by the car?
Since this question is in the work/kinetic energy chapter I assumed I'd have to use:
W = 1/2mvf2 - 1/2mvi2 to find the work done and then use the equation:
W = F*x , solving for F using W from the above equation and x = 22cm
BUT then I realized the question was asking what force did the CAR exert on the METEORITE..and that's why I'm confused. Because solving it the way I originally thought would give me the force exerted by the METEORITE on the CAR, right? So now I have no idea what to do! Any hints/suggestions would be great! Thanks!