High School

Consider the kinetic energy of a 21500 kg truck moving at 87.5 km/h and that of a 97.5 kg astronaut in orbit moving at 25500 km/h.

What is the ratio of the kinetic energy of the truck to the kinetic energy of the astronaut?

Answer :

The ratio of the kinetic energy of the truck to the kinetic energy of the astronaut is approximately 1.01 × 10^-5.

To calculate the ratio of the kinetic energy of the truck to the kinetic energy of the astronaut, we can use the formula for kinetic energy:

Kinetic Energy = 0.5 * mass * velocity^2

First, let's convert the given velocities from km/h to m/s:

Velocity of the truck = 87.5 km/h = 87.5 * 1000 / 3600 m/s ≈ 24.31 m/s

Velocity of the astronaut = 25500 km/h = 25500 * 1000 / 3600 m/s ≈ 7083.33 m/s

Now we can calculate the kinetic energy for each:

Kinetic Energy of the truck = 0.5 * 21500 kg * (24.31 m/s)^2

Kinetic Energy of the astronaut = 0.5 * 97.5 kg * (7083.33 m/s)^2

Calculating the values:

Kinetic Energy of the truck ≈ 2.24 × 10^6 J

Kinetic Energy of the astronaut ≈ 2.22 × 10^11 J

To find the ratio, we divide the kinetic energy of the truck by the kinetic energy of the astronaut:

Ratio = (Kinetic Energy of the truck) / (Kinetic Energy of the astronaut)

Ratio ≈ (2.24 × 10^6 J) / (2.22 × 10^11 J) ≈ 1.01 × 10^-5

Therefore, the ratio of the kinetic energy of the truck to the kinetic energy of the astronaut is approximately 1.01 × 10^-5.

Learn more about kinetic energy from the given link

https://brainly.com/question/8101588

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