The astronaut will take 300 seconds
Explanation:
We can solve this problem by using the law of conservation of momentum.
In fact, the total momentum of the astronaut+object system must be conserved.
Initially, they are both at rest, so their total momentum is zero:
After the astronaut throws the object, their total momentum is:
where:
M = 80 kg is the mass of the astronaut
V is the final velocity of the astronaut
m = 500 g = 0.5 kg is the mass of the object
v = 8.0 m/s is the velocity of the object
Since momentum is conserved, we can write
And solving for V,
Which means that he starts moving at 0.05 m/s in the direction opposite to the object.
Now the astronaut needs to cover a distance of
d = 15.0 m
And his speed is
v = 0.05 m/s
Therefore, the time taken is
Learn more about momentum here:
#LearnwithBrainly