Question

If a 40,000 kilogram rocket were traveling from its launch pad at a speed of 150 meters per second, how fast would approximately 800 kilograms of gases need to be expelled from the rocket to satisfy the equation M1V1 = M2V2?

Answer 1

To satisfy the equation M1V1 = M2V2, the gases would need to be expelled from the rocket at a velocity of approximately 7500 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we can use the equation M1V1 = M2V2, which represents the conservation of momentum. In this equation, M1 is the initial mass of the rocket, V1 is the initial velocity of the rocket, M2 is the mass of the expelled gases, and V2 is the velocity of the expelled gases.

Substituting the given values into the equation, we have (40000 kg)(150 m/s) = (800 kg)(V2). Solving for V2, we find that the gases would need to be expelled at a velocity of approximately 7500 m/s.