Physics 9702 · AS & A Level · Momentum and Newton's laws of motion

Momentum and Newton's laws of motion — practice question

IKAROS satellite has a mass of $320\,\text{kg}$ and travels through space with a solar sail whose area is $20\,\text{m}^2$. The mean pressure of the solar wind is $1.0 \times 10^{-5}\,\text{N m}^{-2}$. What acceleration does the solar wind produce on the satellite?

  • A$3.1 \times 10^{-8}\,\text{m s}^{-2}$
  • B$6.3 \times 10^{-7}\,\text{m s}^{-2}$
  • C$3.2 \times 10^{-3}\,\text{m s}^{-2}$
  • D$6.4 \times 10^{-2}\,\text{m s}^{-2}$

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