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1.3 It is believed that, about 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth close to what is now the town of Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs and many other species. Assume that the asteroid had a mass Mast ~ 1016 kg, and that it hit the Earth (M@ = 6.0×1024 kg) with a speed of about 20 km/s relative to the Earth. We may model the impact as completely inelastic. Also assume that the asteroid hit the Earth "head-on", rather than at some angle. (a) In the frame in which the Earth is initially at rest, how fast does the Earth-asteroid system move after the impact? (b) How much kinetic energy is released in the impact? (c) Compare your answer in part (b) with an energy of 240 PJ, the amount of energy released by the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. [The metric prefix "P" for "Peta" is 1015 !]

1.3 It is believed that, about 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth close to what is now the town of Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs and many other species. Assume that the asteroid had a mass Mast ~ 1016 kg, and that it hit the Earth (M@ = 6.0×1024 kg) with a speed of about 20 km/s relative to the Earth. We may model the impact as completely inelastic. Also assume that the asteroid hit the Earth "head-on", rather than at some angle. (a) In the frame in which the Earth is initially at rest, how fast does the Earth-asteroid system move after the impact? (b) How much kinetic energy is released in the impact? (c) Compare your answer in part (b) with an energy of 240 PJ, the amount of energy released by the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. [The metric prefix "P" for "Peta" is 1015 !]

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1.3 It is believed that, about 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth close to what is now the town of Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs and many other species. Assume that the asteroid had a mass Mast 1016 kg, and that it hit the Earth (Me = 6.0x1024 kg) with a speed of about 20 km/s relative to the Earth. We may model the impact as completely inelastic. Also assume that the asteroid hit the Earth “head-on", rather than at some angle. (a) In the frame in which the Earth is initially at rest, how fast does the Earth-asteroid system move after the impact? (b) How much kinetic energy is released in the impact? (c) Compare your answer in part (b) with an energy of 240 PJ, the amount of energy released by the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. [The metric prefix "P" for “Peta" is 1015 !] 99
Transcribed Image Text:1.3 It is believed that, about 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Earth close to what is now the town of Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs and many other species. Assume that the asteroid had a mass Mast 1016 kg, and that it hit the Earth (Me = 6.0x1024 kg) with a speed of about 20 km/s relative to the Earth. We may model the impact as completely inelastic. Also assume that the asteroid hit the Earth “head-on", rather than at some angle. (a) In the frame in which the Earth is initially at rest, how fast does the Earth-asteroid system move after the impact? (b) How much kinetic energy is released in the impact? (c) Compare your answer in part (b) with an energy of 240 PJ, the amount of energy released by the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. [The metric prefix "P" for “Peta" is 1015 !] 99
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