A meteorite is a solid composed of stone and/or metal material from outer space that
passes through the atmosphere and hits the earth’s surface. Find the kinetic energy of
a meteorite with mass 250 kg that hits the earth at 25 km/s.
Given:
m=250kg
v=2.5E4m/s <<< converted km/s to m/s
So the problem should be set up like this?
0.5*250*(2.5E4)^2=
Yes, that's correct! To find the kinetic energy of the meteorite, you can use the formula for kinetic energy:
Kinetic Energy = 0.5 * mass * velocity^2
Plugging in the given values:
Mass (m) = 250 kg
Velocity (v) = 25 km/s = 25,000 m/s
First, we convert km/s to m/s by multiplying by 1,000. So, v = 25,000 m/s.
Now, we can substitute the values into the formula and calculate:
Kinetic Energy = 0.5 * 250 kg * (25,000 m/s)^2
To evaluate this expression, we first square the velocity:
Kinetic Energy = 0.5 * 250 kg * 625,000,000 m^2/s^2
Then, we multiply the mass and the squared velocity:
Kinetic Energy = 78,125,000,000 J
Therefore, the kinetic energy of the meteorite is 78,125,000,000 Joules.