Question

Not all asteroids carry that much energy to the Earth. Most asteroids that hit the Earth are much smaller. Find the KE of a 100kg asteroid that enters Earth's atmosphere moving a 20,000 m/s.

A) 1 x 10^6 J

B) 2 x 10^6 J

C) 2 x 10^10 J

D)4 x 10^10 J

Answer 1

Answer:

C) 2 x 10^10 J

Step by step explanation:

The kinetic energy (KE) of an object is given by the formula:

KE = 0.5 * m * v^2

Where m is the mass of the object and v is its velocity.

Substituting the given values:

KE = 0.5 * 100 kg * (20,000 m/s)^2

KE = 0.5 * 100 kg * 400,000,000 m^2/s^2

KE = 20,000,000,000 J or 2 x 10^10 J

Therefore, the correct answer is option C) 2 x 10^10 J