an astronaut has a mass of 100 kg. she recedes from her spacecraft using spurts of gas from a small unit on her back. if the force generated by the gas spurt is 50N, calculate her acceleration?
F = m a
50 = 100 a
a = 0.5 m/s^2
To calculate the astronaut's acceleration, we need to use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.
The given force is 50N, and the mass of the astronaut is 100 kg. We can use the formula:
force = mass × acceleration
Rearranging the formula, we can solve for acceleration:
acceleration = force / mass
Plugging in the values, we can calculate the astronaut's acceleration:
acceleration = 50N / 100 kg
Simplifying the equation:
acceleration = 0.5 m/s²
Therefore, the astronaut's acceleration is 0.5 m/s².