In: Physics
Most geologists believe that the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago when a large comet or asteroid struck the earth, throwing up so much dust that the sun was blocked out for a period of many months. Suppose an asteroid with a diameter of 2.0 km and a mass of 1.0 ×1013 kg hits the earth (6.0×1024 kg) with an impact speed of 4.2 ×104 m/s.
Part A) What is the earth’s recoil speed after such a collision? (Use a reference frame in which the earth was initially at rest.)
Part B) What percentage is this of the earth’s speed around the sun? The earth orbits the sun at a distance of 1.5×1011 m.
The earth's recoil can be calculated using the law of conservation of momentum.
To evaluate the part B, we would require to obtain the orbital velocity of earth around sun.
The detailed steps are as follows :