Two rockets with the same

mass are accelerated. Rocket
A accelerates twice as quickly
as rocket B. Which statement
is correct? (1 point)
The motor in rocket A
is half as powerful as
the motor in rocket B.
The motor in rocket A
is a third as powerful
as the motor in rocket
B.
The motor in rocket A
is four times as
powerful as the motor
in rocket B.
The motor in rocket A
is twice as powerful as
the motor in rocket B.

1 answer

To determine the correct statement regarding the power of the motors in rockets A and B, we need to understand the relationship between force, acceleration, and power.

  1. Newton's Second Law of Motion states that \( F = ma \), where \( F \) is the force, \( m \) is the mass, and \( a \) is the acceleration. Since both rockets have the same mass, the force required to accelerate each rocket is directly proportional to the acceleration.

  2. Since Rocket A accelerates twice as quickly as Rocket B, we can say:

    • If the acceleration of Rocket B is \( a \), then the acceleration of Rocket A is \( 2a \).
    • The force for Rocket A is therefore \( F_A = m \cdot (2a) = 2ma \).
    • The force for Rocket B is \( F_B = ma \).
  3. The power (\( P \)) of the motors is given by the formula \( P = Fv \), where \( v \) is the velocity. In this case, we can focus on the fact that power is also proportional to force when we consider the instantaneous power just as the rockets are initiated.

  4. Since Rocket A produces a force that is twice that of Rocket B, we can conclude that the power generated by Rocket A's motor is also greater.

When Rocket A is accelerating at twice the rate, it means:

  • \( P_A = F_A v_A \)
  • \( P_B = F_B v_B \)

As both rockets have the same mass and are accelerating, we find the relationship of power by comparing the forces:

  • Since \( P_A \propto F_A\) and \( P_B \propto F_B \)
  • \( F_A = 2F_B \), we get \( P_A = 2P_B \) when we talk about average powers for equal time intervals.

Therefore, the correct statement is:

The motor in rocket A is twice as powerful as the motor in rocket B.