Question: Hello! Please help me solve and explai the question. Physicist have speculated that the extinction of dinosaurs may have been caused by collision of gigantic

Hello! Please help me solve and explai the question.

Physicist have speculated that the extinction of dinosaurs may have been caused by collision of gigantic meteorite with the Earth. Calculations suggested that this meteorite may have had a mass of 5x108 tonnes and could have been travelling at 20 km/s before it struck the Earth. In the (inelastic) collision which followed, much kinetic energy of meteorite would have been transferred to the Earth in inelastic processes, triggering what geologist have called "the worst weekend in the history of the world".

A. What sort of effects would the inelastic process have had?

B. Calculate the kinetic energy of meteorite before it collided by the Earth(mass =6x1024kg) as a result of the collision.

C. Calculate the kinetic energy transferred to the Earth by the collision.

D. How much of meteorite's kinetic energy was transferred to the Earth in elastic processes during the collision.

Step by Step Solution

There are 3 Steps involved in it

1 Expert Approved Answer
Step: 1 Unlock blur-text-image
Question Has Been Solved by an Expert!

Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts

Step: 2 Unlock
Step: 3 Unlock

Students Have Also Explored These Related Physics Questions!