Question

A 56 kg meteor enters the atmosphere with a whopping46,000,000 Joules of Potential Energy. What height does it enterour atmosphere?

Answer 1

Given:

Mass (m) = 56 kg

Potential Energy (PE) = 46000000 Joules

Let's find the height the meteor enters our atmosphere.

To find the height, apply the Potential Energy formula below:

$PE=m\ast g\ast h$

Since we are to find the height(h), rewrite the equation for h:

$h=\frac{PE}{m\ast g}$

Where:

g is the acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s^2

Input values into the equation:

$\begin{gathered} h=\frac{46000000}{56\ast9.8} \\ \\ h=\frac{46000000}{548.8} \\ \\ h=83819.24\text{ m} \end{gathered}$

Therefore, the height it enters our atmosphere is 83819.24 meters

ANSWER:

83819.2 m