Question

Two government agents (FBI agents and Morgan Spencer) need their experience in physics to determine the reasons why an alien spaceship exploded. The remains of the ship are in three parts around a town in northern Minnesota. The center of mass of a single piece (mass = 300 kg) spacecraft landed 6.0 kilometers north of the city center. Another piece (mass = 1000 kg) landed 1.6 kilometers southeast (36 degrees south of east) from the center of the city. The last piece (mass = 400 kg) landed 4.0 kilometers southwest (65 degrees south west) from the center of the city. No more parts of the spacecraft. The Army, who was watching the ship on its radar, says that hung motionless on the city center when it exploded spontaneously and pieces fell. Morgan Spencer and agents do not believe that the ship has exploded by itself. They suspect that a missile hit her. They ask you to determine if the fragments found are consistent with the spacecraft exploded spontaneously. If not, it determined from which direction came the suspect missile. (For simplicity, it is assumed that parts of the spacecraft after the explosion move in the same plane.)

Answer 1

The fragments are: m 300kg x 6.0km j ,-1000 kg x,-1.6cos 36" і _ 1.6 sin 36"J_1.29kmi-0.94 km J m 400kgx24.0cs 65 i -4 sin 65 j1.69kmi-3.625km j The center of mass is, 0 (1000kg) (1.29km) +(400kg)(-1.69km) 300kg +1000kg +400kg 0.36i (300kg) (6km)-(1000kg) (0.94km)+(400kg) (-3.625km) 300kg +1000kg +400kg --0.347j The center of mass is not zero, hence, space craft doesnt explodes spontaneously Therefore, another misile came from 0.36i -0.347 j comes and collides the space craft. came from 44" south east.