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7/21/22, 7:37 AMProblem Set ThreeNotes: Use 9.8 m/s 2 for the acceleration due to gravity. Formust be expressed in m/sLaw calculations, mass must be expressed in kg and velocity.An astronaut has a mass of 120kg. She recedes from her spacecraft using spurts of gas from a small unit on her back. If the force generated by the gas spurt is 50 N calculate her acceleration.

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In order to calculate her acceleration, we can use the second law of Newton:


F=m\cdot a

Where F is the force (in Newtons), m is the mass (in kg) and a is the acceleration (in m/s²).

If the mass is 120 kg and the force is 50 N, we have:


\begin{gathered} 50=120\cdot a\\ \\ a=(50)/(120)\\ \\ a=(5)/(12)\text{ m/s^^b2} \end{gathered}

Therefore the acceleration is 5/12 m/s².

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