Question

A "sun yacht" is a spacecraft with a large sail that is pushed by sunlight. Although such a push is tiny in everyday circumstances, it can be large enough to send the spacecraft outward from the Sun on a cost-free but slow trip. Suppose that the spacecraft has a mass of 900 kg and receives a push of 20 N. (a) What is the magnitude of the resulting acceleration? If the craft starts from rest,(b) how far will it travel in 1 day and (c) how fast will it then be moving?

Answer 1

acceleration = 0.022 m/s^2

distance = 8.3 x 10^7 m

speed = 1.9 x 10 ^3 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

the parameters given are:

mass = 900kg

force = 20N

• from the formula force = mass x acceleration

acceleration = force / mass

acceleration = 20 / 900

acceleration = 0.022 m/s^2

• distance travelled in 1 day (86,400 seconds) = (1/2) x a x t^2

(1/2) x 0.022 x (86,400^2) = 8.3 x 10^7 m

• speed of the sun yatch (v) = a x t

0.22 x 86400 = 1.9 x 10 ^3 m/s