An astronaut , floating alone in outer space, throws a baseball. If the ball floats away at a speed of 20 meters per second, the astronaut will

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the astronaut throws the baseball, they exert a force on the ball in one direction, and the ball exerts an equal and opposite force on the astronaut. This causes the astronaut to move in the opposite direction. However, because the astronaut's mass is much greater than the baseball's mass, the astronaut's speed will be lower than the speed of the baseball, according to the conservation of momentum principle.

An Astronaut , Floating Alone in Outer Space, Throws a Baseball