Most geologists believe that the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago w

Question

Most geologists believe that the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago when a large comet or asteroid struck the earth, throwing up so much dust that the sun was blocked out for a period of many months. Suppose an asteroid with a diameter of 2.0 km and a mass of 7.0×1012 kg hits the earth with an impact speed of 4.5×104 m/s .

Part A

What is the earth's recoil speed after such a collision? (Use a reference frame in which the earth was initially at rest.) Use the astronomical data inside the back cover of the textbook.

Part B

What percentage is this of the earth's speed around the sun?

Explanation / Answer

Here ,

a)

let the recoil speed of earth is v

as the asteroid and earth will stick together

using conseravtion of momentum

7 *10^12 * 4.5 *10^4 = (7 *10^12 + 5.98 *10^24) * v

v = 5.368 *10^-8 m/s

the earth's recoil speed is 5.368 *10^-8 m/s

b)

earth's speed after around sun ,

Vs= 30000 m/s

percentage of earth's speed around the sun = v * 100/Vs

percentage of earth's speed around the sun = 5.368 *10^-8 * 100/30000

percentage of earth's speed around the sun = 1.756 *10^-10

the percentage of earth's speed around the sun is 1.756 *10^-10

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