The motion of a very massive object can be minimally affected by what would seem
ID: 1278053 • Letter: T
Question
The motion of a very massive object can be minimally affected by what would seem to be a substantial force. Consider a supertanker, with a mass of 3.0x10^8kg . Suppose you strapped two jet engines (thrust force of a small jet engine is 50,000 N ) onto the sides of the tanker.
Ignoring the drag of the water (which, in reality, is not a very good approximation), how long will it take the tanker, starting from rest, to reach a typical cruising speed of 6.0 m/s?
Express your answer to two significant figures.
Explanation / Answer
acceleration=F/m=2*50000/(3*10^8)=0.0003333m/s2
time=speed/acceleration=6/0.0003333=18000seconds