Question

URGENT!! An astronaut on the International Space Station is doing a spacewalk to fix a solar panel that has malfunctioned. While he is completing his task, a piece of space junk flies past and cuts the line that has him tethered to the space station. He begins to float away and must think quickly in order to get himself back to safety. All the astronaut has with him on his suit are some small tools and a can of compressed air.

What would be the most effective way for the astronaut to get himself back to safety?
A. use a swimming motion to move himself back to the space station
b. toss his tools in the direction of the space station
c. shoot gas from his compressed air canister towards the space station
d. shoot gas from his compressed air canister away from the space station

Answer 1

C because the air will push him closer to the space station

Answer 2

D. Shoot gas from his compressed air canister away from the space station

Step-by-step explanation:

Isacc Newton's 3rd law states "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.