Deep Space 1 was a spacecraft powered by an engine that gave off xenon particles to change velocity. It had a mass of 500 kg. Which expression can be used to find the spacecraft’s acceleration if its engine created a net force of 0.10 N?

A

B
500 kg • 0.10 N
C

D
500 kg + 0.10 N

1 answer

To find the acceleration of Deep Space 1, you can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that \( F = m \cdot a \), where \( F \) is the net force, \( m \) is the mass, and \( a \) is the acceleration.

Rearranging this equation to solve for acceleration \( a \) gives you:

\[ a = \frac{F}{m} \]

In this case, the net force \( F \) is \( 0.10 , N \) and the mass \( m \) is \( 500 , kg \). So, the expression you would use to find the spacecraft's acceleration is:

\[ a = \frac{0.10 , N}{500 , kg} \]

None of the provided options A, B, C, or D are complete expressions that directly show this calculation, but the appropriate choice based on this context would be the one that represents \( F = m \cdot a \), which is closest to:

Option A (if it shows the correct relationship).

To summarize, the acceleration \( a \) can be expressed as \( a = \frac{0.10 , N}{500 , kg} \). If none of the options explicitly show that, the question might be about identifying a relevant relationship rather than calculating a specific value.