Question

10. An astronaut drops her space-hammer on Mars where gMars = 3.71 m/s. The space-hammer has a mass of 2.0 kg and a charge of −300 µC to assist with space nails. An electrical storm (only a science fiction thing as far as I know, but let’s pretend) has created an electric field of 40, 000 N/C pointed 30◦ vertically upwards from due East. The space-hammer starts from rest 1.3 meters above the ground. a) (2 points) In which direction will the astronaut need to walk to pick up her hammer after it hits the ground? b) (6 points) How far horizontally does the hammer travel before it hits the ground?

***How do you solve B) with using SOHCAHTOA (Trig)?

Answer 1

The acceleration due to electric field is decomposed into vertical and horizontal components using trigonometry. Then using Newton's laws, part b is solved. The horizontal distance the hammer travels is 1.007 m and towards the west