On August 10, 1972, a large meteorite skipped across the atmosphere above wester

Question

On August 10, 1972, a large meteorite skipped across the atmosphere above western United States and Canada, much like a stone skipped across water. The accompanying fireball was so bright that it could be seen in the daytime sky. The meteorite's mass was about 3 106 kg; its speed was about 13 km/s. Had it entered the atmosphere vertically, it would have hit the Earth's surface with about the same speed.

(a) Calculate the meteorite's loss of kinetic energy (in joules) that would have been associated with the vertical impact.
_______J

(b) Express the energy as a multiple of the explosive energy of 1 megaton of TNT, which is 4.2 1015 J.
_________ megaton TNT

(c) The energy associated with the atomic bomb explosion over Hiroshima was equivalent to 13 kilotons of TNT. To how many "Hiroshima bombs" would the meteorite impact have been equivalent?
___________

Explanation / Answer

I'm assuming ur meteorite is is 3*10^6 and not 3106kg as it kindaof looks. Part(a): 1/2*m*v^2 : 1/2*(3*10^6)*(13*10^3)^2 2.535*10^14 J Part(b): E = (2.535*10^14)/(4.2*10^15) = 6.04*10^-2 Part(c): 60.36 / 13 = 4.64 Hope this helps :)

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