How long will it take for her to reach the shuttle? Answer in minutes.

Question

A(n) 52 kg astronaut becomes separated from the shuttle, while on a space walk. She finds herself 57.9 m away from the shuttle and moving with zero speed relative to the shuttle. She has a(n) 0.551 kg camera in her hand and decides to get back to the shuttle by throwing the camera at a speed of 12 m/s in the direction away from the shuttle. How long will it take for her to reach the shuttle? Answer in minutes.

1. 7.210 min

2. 9.487 min

3. 8.728 min

4. 9.866 min

5. 6.830 min

6. 9.107 min

7. 10.25 min

Answer 1

This can be solved using the conservation of momentum for an "explosion".

m_Av_A = -m_Cv_C

Solve for v_A then do distance = rate x time and solve for time.

The distance is given and v_A is the rate.

Watch your units.

The answer choices are a little ridiculous in terms of Significant Figures as the data is limited to 2 digits while the answers suggest that they could be precise to 4 digits.