NTA Abhyas JEE Main2020PhysicsCenter of Mass, Momentum and CollisionPractice
A space-ship travelling in the interstellar medium is picking up dust at a rate d M d t = α v , where α is a positive constant, v is the instantaneous velocity and M is the total mass of the space-ship at any instant. The instantaneous acceleration of the space-ship is
Options
- A− 2 α v 2 M
- B− α v 2 M
- C− α v 2 2 M
- D− α v 2
Correct answer
B. − α v 2 M
Step-by-step solution
d M d t = α v F thrust = - v d M d t = M a ⇒ - v α v = M a ⇒ a = − α v 2 M