Gravitational Potential Energy: In the past, Earth has been hit by many asteroids, some very large. Suppose one such asteroid approached Earth so that when it was very far away it was traveling at 6500 m/s along a line that would miss the center of Earth by 8,500,000 m. Because of the gravitational attraction of Earth, it departed from this straight line and curved towards Earth, colliding with it. What was the speed of this asteroid when it hit Earth if we ignore the effect of the sun? The mass of Earth is 5.97 × 1024 kg, its radius is 6.38 × 106 m, and G = 6.67 × 10-11 N ? m2/kg2.
A. 11,400 m/s
B. 12,900 m/s
C. 13,700 m/s
D. 15,800 m/s
E. 16,400 m/s
Answer: B
You might also like to view...
At what core temperature does hydrogen begin to fuse to helium?
A) 3,000 K B) 5,800 K C) 1 million K D) 10 million K E) 100 million K
A net force of 125 N is applied to a certain object. As a result, the object accelerates with an acceleration of 24.0 m/s2. The mass of the object is
A) 3000 kg. B) 2880 kg. C) 144 kg. D) 0.200 kg. E) 5.21 kg.
The winds of Neptune have a tendency to blow backward, against the rotation of the planet
a. True b. False Indicate whether the statement is true or false
To be dimensionally consistent, the formula velocity = frequency x wavelength must be related as follows where velocity [L/T], frequency [1/T], and wavelength [L].
A. 
B. 
C. velocity = frequency/wavelength
D. 