Question

1. An astronaut is a distance L from her spaceship, and is at rest with respect to the ship, when she discovers that her tether has broken. She tosses a wrench with a speed Vw in the opposite direction of the ship to propel herself back to the ship. The astronaut has mass MA, and the wrench has mass Mw.

a) Draw a sketch, showing the subsequent motion of the astronaut and the wrench.

b) What is the initial momentum (before toss) of the astronaut plus wrench system? What is the final momentum?

c) Use conservation of momentum to solve for the speed of the astronaut VA, relative to the ship, in terms of MA, Mw and Vw.

d) How long does it take her to reach the ship in terms of L, MA, Mw and Vw?

e) How far has the wrench traveled from its original position when the astronaut reaches the ship? Express your answer in terms of L, MA and Mw.

Answer 1