JunoCheung
History of the Universe
Problem Set 3 - Short Answer Questions
Due: Feb 22, 2024 in class
Written homework in this class is intended as a learning tool. Collaboration with peers while working on
this assignment is encouraged - in fact, collaborative assignments produced by two people are allowed for
full credit. You can ask Statia for help too! Please, though, don’t copy from someone else or have AI do
your homework – this would constitute academic dishonesty and defeat the purpose of the assignment,
which is to help you practice the skills you’ll need for exams. And do show all your work. You will need
to use a calculator to complete this assignment. Below you will find some potentially useful information.
This information will also be provided during exams!
Metric System Prefixes Table Constants, Values, and Unit Conversions
T “terra” 1012 8
𝑐 = 3. 0 × 10 𝑚/𝑠 speed of light in a vacuum
G “giga” 109 −34
ℎ = 6. 63 × 10 𝐽· 𝑠 Planck constant
M “mega” 106
−11 3 −1 −2
k “kilo” 103 𝐺 = 6. 7 × 10 𝑚 𝑘𝑔 𝑠 Gravitational constant
c “centi” 10-2 π = 3. 14
m “milli” 10-3 1 mile = 5280 feet = 1.61 km
μ “micro” 10-6 1 inch = 2.54 cm
n “nano” 10-9 1 foot = 12 inches
p “pico” 10-12 1 𝐴𝑈 = 1. 50 × 10 𝑚
11
Astronomical Unit
24
𝑀𝐸 = 5. 97 × 10 𝑘𝑔 Mass of Earth
6
𝑅𝐸 = 6. 38 × 10 𝑚 Radius of Earth
15
1 𝑙𝑦 = 9. 5 × 10 𝑚 light-year
−2
1𝑁 ≡ 1𝑘𝑔 𝑚 𝑠 Newton
2 −2
1𝐽 ≡ 1 𝑘𝑔 𝑚 𝑠 Joule
−1
1𝑊 ≡ 1𝐽 · 𝑠 Watt
−1
1 𝐻𝑧 ≡ 1/𝑠 = 𝑠 Hertz
1 ton = 1000 kg
Potentially Useful Equations
𝑑= 𝑣 × 𝑡 d = distance; v = speed; t = time
2
𝐴 = π𝑟 Area of a circle. A= area, r= radius (radius = ½ diameter). Can be used
for telescope collecting area.
2
𝑉𝑐𝑦𝑙 = π𝑟 ℎ Volume of a cylinder. V= volume, r= radius, h = height
3
𝑉𝑠𝑝ℎ = 4/3 π𝑟 Volume of a sphere. V= volume, r= radius
λ
θ𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 69. 9 𝐷
θ𝑚𝑖𝑛= minimum distinguishable angle of separation; λ =
wavelength; D = diameter of the telescope aperture
Potentially Useful Equations (continued)
2 3
𝑃 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
=𝑎 𝐴𝑈
Kepler’s Third Law.. Pyears = Orbital period in years; aAU = orbital distance
(“semimajor axis”) in AU.
𝐹= 𝑚 × 𝑎 Newton’s second law of motion. F= force, m=mass, a=acceleration
𝐹1 =− 𝐹2 Newton’s third law of motion.𝐹1= force exerted by body 1 on body 2; 𝐹2=
force exerted by body 2 on body 1
𝐺𝑚1𝑚2
𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣 = 2 Newton’s Law of Gravitation. 𝐹𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣= gravitational force. G = gravitational
𝑑
constant; 𝑚1, 𝑚2 = masses of objects 1 and 2, respectively; d =
separation between two objects.
2𝐺𝑀
𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐 = 𝑟
𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐= escape speed; G = gravitational constant; M = mass of object to
escape from; r= distance from object’s center.
𝑣 = λ× 𝑓 v = speed of a wave; λ = wavelength; f = frequency
𝐸𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛 = ℎ × 𝑓 𝐸𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛 = energy of a photon; h = Planck constant; f = frequency
Thunder and Lightning: Thunder is the sound created when lightning passes through the air,
heating the air and causing it to rapidly expand and then contract. Imagine there is a storm 10 km
away.
a) Light travels at 300,000,000 m/s and sound travels at 343 m/s. Write both of these speeds in
scientific notation.
b) At our distance of 10 km from the storm, how long of a delay (in seconds) will there be
from when the lightning flashes and when we see the flash?
10km 10 10 m
delay Y.tt4 3.5xIo5seconds
c) How long of a delay (in seconds) will there be from when the thunder cracks and when
we hear the thunder?
Delay 2 at o'seconds
s
d) In 2-3 sentences, explain why/how one could use the time separation between the flash of
lighting and crack of thunder to estimate the distance of a storm. What time do we use to
calculate the distance? What speed?
Lighttravels muchfasterthansound Distance speed time In case
this
thedelay betweenthethundercrackandlightningflash is thetime while thespeedis
thespeed sound 343mls
of
Newton’s Laws on Earth
a) What gravitational force (in Newtons) does the Earth exert on the average human
(mass=70 kg)? Hint: for a human standing on the surface of Earth, the appropriate
separation to use is the Earth’s radius. Show all your work!
Fgraw
GII
6.7 10 kg's 7.0 10 kg 5.97 10 kg
Fgrave
6.3810m 102,3
6.88
1011
6.88
b) What is the acceleration a human would experience in freefall near Earth’s surface, due
to Earth’s gravity? Ignore air resistance! Show all work!
a E
6.88
a
4 98 10
1
4
c) What gravitational force does the average human exert on the Earth?
1011
6.88 3rdlawofmotion
d) With what speed must one launch a rocket for it to completely escape Earth’s gravity?
Don’t Google it! Show your work!
Vese FM
2
216.7 10 m kg's 5.97 1024kg
yes 6.38 10 m
5
4 44 1.23 [Link]