Question

A 70kg accidentally loses his safety line while drifting in space 4m from the space shuttle. To get back he removes a 5.3kg tool from his belt and throws it at 16m/s away from the shuttle. How fast will he move towards the shuttle

Answer 1

The answer to this question can be found using the law of conservation of momentum. The momentum of the astronaut and the tool before the tool is thrown is 70kg x 0m/s + 5.3kg x 0m/s = 0. After the tool is thrown, the momentum of the astronaut and the tool is 70kg x v + 5.3kg x 16m/s = 0. Solving for v, we get v = -2.4m/s. Therefore, the astronaut will move towards the shuttle at a speed of 2.4m/s.