Question

A space probe of mass 400 kg drifts past location with momentum . Assuming the momentum of the probe does not change, what will be its position 2 minutes later?

Short answer

The location of the space probe after 2 s is.

Step-by-step solution

Identification of given data

The given data can be listed below,

• The mass of the space probe is $m=400kg$
• The initial location of the space probe is,
• The momentum of the space probe is,

Concept/Significance of linear velocity

The velocity relies on both the magnitude and direction. So, velocity is a vector quality. Speed, on the other hand, is a scalar number since its magnitude is all that matters.

Determination of position of space probe 2 minutes later

The velocity of the space probe is given by,

$\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{v}=\frac{\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{p}}{m}$

Here,$\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{p}$ is the momentum of the space probe and m is the mass of the space probe.

Substitute all the values in the above,

The velocity of the space probe can also be expressed as,

$\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{v}=\frac{\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{r_f}-\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{r_i}}{∆t}$

Here,$\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{r}$ is the final location ofthe space probe,$\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{r}$ is the initial location of thespace probeand$∆t$ is the time elapsed.

Rearrange above expression for final location.

$\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{r_f}=\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{r_i}+\stackrel{\rightharpoonup }{v}∆t$

Substitute all the values in the above expression.

Thus, the location of the space probe after 2 s is .