Question

"Approximate speed of the shuttle at the beginning of reentry Mach 25

Approximate speed of the shuttle when it began to break up Mach 18
Approximate speed of a 0.30 cal bullet from a big game rifle 3000 ft's
Typical reentry speed for an ICBM 1800 mi/hr
Mach 1 = Speed of sound (at 20°C) 343 m/s
**Thus the term ""Mach means how many times the speed of sound. Mach 2 is twice the speed
of sound. etc.
Speed of Light = Warp 1 3.0x 10 8 m/s
Use the information above to answer these questions. You MUST SHOW YOUR WORK to get
full credit for your answers.
1st Question: A 0.30 cal bullet travels at _____ mi/hr.
2nd Question: The space shuttle was traveling ________ times faster than a 0.30 cal bullet when it broke up."

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

1st Question: A 0.30 cal bullet travels at 3000 ft/s. To convert this speed to miles per hour, we can use the conversion factor that 1 mile is equal to 5280 feet and 1 hour is equal to 3600 seconds. So, the speed of a 0.30 cal bullet in miles per hour is (3000 ft/s) * (1 mi / 5280 ft) * (3600 s / 1 hr) = 2045.45 mi/hr.

2nd Question: The space shuttle was traveling at Mach 18 when it began to break up. Since Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound, which is approximately 343 m/s, Mach 18 is equal to 18 * 343 = 6162 m/s. To convert this speed to miles per hour, we can use the conversion factor that 1 mile is equal to 1609.34 meters and 1 hour is equal to 3600 seconds. So, the speed of the space shuttle in miles per hour when it began to break up is (6162 m/s) * (1 mi / 1609.34 m) * (3600 s / 1 hr) = 13837.56 mi/hr.

Since a 0.30 cal bullet travels at approximately 2045.45 mi/hr, the space shuttle was traveling approximately (13837.56 mi/hr) / (2045.45 mi/hr) = 6.77 times faster than a 0.30 cal bullet when it broke up.