Question

A astronaut has a mass of 97.0 kg counting his suit and tools. He accidently loses his safety line while drifting in space 4.00 meters from the space shuttle. To get back, he removes a 5.3 kg tool from his belt and throws it at 16.0 m/s away from the shuttle. How fast will he move toward the shuttle?

Answer 1

The astronaut will move toward the space shuttle at a speed of -0.0871 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the speed at which the astronaut will move toward the space shuttle, we can use the principle of conservation of momentum. The initial momentum of the astronaut and the tool is zero, since they are both at rest. When the tool is thrown away, it exerts a force on the astronaut, causing them to move in the opposite direction. By applying the equation:

mass of astronaut x initial velocity of astronaut = mass of tool x final velocity of tool

we can calculate the final velocity of the astronaut.

After solving for the final velocity of the astronaut, we find that they will move toward the space shuttle at a speed of -0.0871 m/s.