Answer :
The kinetic energy of the truck is approximately 9.77 * 10^7 J, while the kinetic energy of the astronaut is around 1.89 * 10^10 J.
Kinetic energy is calculated using the formula KE = (1/2)mv^2, where KE represents kinetic energy, m is the mass of the object, and v is its velocity. For the truck, with a mass of 20500 kg and a velocity of 97.5 km/h (which converts to approximately 27.08 m/s), the calculation is as follows:
KE_truck = (1/2) * 20500 * (27.08)^2 ≈ 9.77 * 10^7 J.
For the astronaut, with a mass of 82.5 kg and a velocity of 29000 km/h (which converts to approximately 8055.56 m/s), the calculation is:
KE_astronaut = (1/2) * 82.5 * (8055.56)^2 ≈ 1.89 * 10^10 J.
These calculations demonstrate that even though the astronaut has significantly less mass than the truck, the tremendous velocity of the astronaut in orbit results in a much higher kinetic energy compared to that of the truck on the road. This highlights the importance of both mass and velocity in determining kinetic energy, as shown by the kinetic energies of the truck and the astronaut.
