What is the escape velocity from the surface of the Earth?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the escape velocity from the surface of the Earth?
7.9 km/s
11.2 km/s
9.8 km/s
15 km/s
The escape velocity from the surface of the Earth is approximately 11.2 km/s.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the escape velocity from the surface of the Earth?
Solution: The escape velocity from the surface of the Earth is approximately 11.2 km/s.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what escape velocity means. It is the speed needed to break free from a planet's gravitational pull without any additional propulsion.
Step 2: Know that the escape velocity from Earth is calculated using the formula: v = √(2 * G * M / R), where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the Earth, and R is the radius of the Earth.
Step 3: Use the values: G = 6.674 × 10^-11 m^3 kg^-1 s^-2, M (mass of Earth) = 5.972 × 10^24 kg, and R (radius of Earth) = 6.371 × 10^6 m.
Step 4: Plug these values into the formula to calculate the escape velocity.
Step 5: After calculating, you will find that the escape velocity from the surface of the Earth is approximately 11.2 km/s.
