Meteorites are rocks that enter Earth’s atmosphere and only partially burn up during entry, so that the remaining mass lands on Earth’s surface. The speeds
with which meteorites strike Earth’s surface depend on their point of origin. If
they were originally small rocks that orbited Earth, their impact speed might
be as low as 10.0 km/s. If the small rocks orbited the sun, the speed with
which they collide with Earth could be as large as 70.0 km/s. Suppose a
meteorite collides with Earth with a force of –6.41 × 1012 N.
a. What is the mass of the meteorite if its impact speed is 10 km/s, so that it
has an acceleration of approximately –1.00 × 108
m/s^2?


b. What is the mass of the meteorite if its impact speed is 70 km/s, so that it
has an acceleration of approximately –490 × 109
m/s^2?