Question

An astronaut with a mass of `75 kg` is floating in space. If the astronaut throws an object with a mass of `6 kg` at a speed of `4/5 m/s`, how much will his speed change by?

Answer 1

The astronaut will get a velocity `0.064ms^-1` opposite to the direction of the object.

Explanation:

The problem stands on the conservation law of momentum.
The formula is `m_1v_1+m_2v_2=m_1u_1+m_2u_2`
Here primary momentum is 0 as the velocity of the man with the object was 0.
So,
`m_1v_1+m_2v_2=0`
Let the mass of the astronaut is `m_1` and the object `m_2`and its velocity `v_2`.
Then, `v_1`=`-(24/(75×5))`=-0.064
The -ve shows the direction to be opposite.