Question

A meteorite of mass 1500kg moves with a speed of 0.700c . Find the magnitude of its momentum p.Express your answer in kilograms times meters per second to three significant figures.

Answer 1

`4.4\cdot 10^(11) kg m/s`

Step-by-step explanation:

The relativistic momentum of an object is given by

`p=\gamma m_0 v`

where:

`\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-(v^2)/(c^2)}}` is the relativistic factor, with v being the speed and c being the speed of light

m0 is the rest mass of the object

v is the speed

In this problem, we have

m = 1500 kg is the rest mass

v = 0.700 c is the speed of the meteorite

So we find

`\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-((0.700 c)^2)/(c^2)}}=1.4`

And so the momentum is

`p=(1.4)(1500 kg)(0.7\cdot 3\cdot 10^8 m/s)=4.4\cdot 10^(11)kg m/s`