Three isolated objects drift in deep space where gravitational forces are negligible:…

PHYSICS · Subjective · CBSE · Physics · Force and Laws of Motion · Force and Laws of Motion

Problem

Three isolated objects drift in deep space where gravitational forces are negligible: • a bacterium of mass

1.0\times10^{-15}\,\text{kg}

, • a steel ball bearing of mass

5.0\times10^{-2}\,\text{kg}

, • an asteroid fragment of mass

1.0\times10^{6}\,\text{kg}

. Individual micro-thrusters apply constant forces of

2.0\times10^{-12}\,\text{N}

0.40\,\text{N}

and

4.0\times10^{3}\,\text{N}

respectively to the three bodies, each along a straight line and starting from rest. (i) Calculate the acceleration produced in each body. (ii) Determine the speed of each body after

10\,\text{s}

of thrust. (iii) Compute the kinetic energy acquired by each body after the

10\,\text{s}

interval. (iv) Using your results, discuss quantitatively how mass governs the response of a body to an applied force and hence serves as a measure of inertia.

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