Question

Most geologists believe that the dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago when a large comet or asteroid struck the earth, throwing up so much dust that the sun was blocked out for a period of many months. Suppose an asteroid with a diameter of 5.0 km and a mass of 2.5×1014 kg hits the earth with an impact speed of 3.0×104 m/s .

What is the earth's recoil speed after such a collision? Assume that the mass of the earth is 5.98⋅1024 kg. (Use a reference frame in which the earth was initially at rest.)

What percentage is this of the earth's speed around the sun? Assume that the orbit of the earth is a circle with the radius of 1.5⋅10111.5⋅1011 mm.

Answer 1