Consider a monkey wrench released at rest at the far edge of the solar system. Suppose that it drops to the Earth by virtue of only Earth gravity. It will strike the Earth's surface with a speed of about
A) 9.8 m/s.
B) 11 km/s.
C) 8 km/s.
D) the speed of light.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The speed mentioned in choice B, 11 km/s, is approximately the escape velocity from Earth's surface. An object falling to Earth from a great distance away, influenced only by Earth's gravity, would reach a speed close to this value upon impact with the Earth's surface.

Consider a Monkey Wrench Released at Rest at the Far