Question

A rocket in space has a mass of 5000 kg, and is propelled by a rocket motor with 900,000 N of thrust, which burns for 4 seconds. What is the rocket's acceleration?

Answer 1

The rocket's acceleration is approximately 180 m/s².

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the rocket's acceleration, we need to use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration. In this case, the force is the thrust provided by the rocket motor, and the mass is the mass of the rocket.

Here's the calculation:

Force = mass x acceleration

900,000 N = 5000 kg x acceleration

acceleration = 900,000 N / 5000 kg

acceleration ≈ 180 m/s²

Therefore, the rocket's acceleration is approximately 180 m/s².