Question

When NASA's Skylab reentered the Earth's atmosphere on July 11, 1979, it broke into a myriad of pieces. One of the largest fragments was a 1770-kg lead-lined film vault, and it landed with an estimated speed of 120 m/s. What was the kinetic energy of the film vault when it landed?

Answer 1

Answer:

The kinetic energy when the film vault landed is 12744000J.

Explanation:

The kinetic energy is defined as:

$k_{e} = \frac{1}{2}mv^{2}$  (1)

Where m is the mass and v is the velocity.

By means of equation 1, the kinetic energy of the film vault when it landed can be determined

$k_{e} = \frac{1}{2}(1770kg)(120m/s)^{2}$  

But $1 J = kg.m^{2}/s^{2}$

$k_{e} = 12744000J$

Hence, the kinetic energy when the film vault landed is 12744000J.