Question

thursday
space travel and momentum (first law review)
question: an astronaut in deep space throws a
wrench. the wrench moves away from the astronaut,
and there is no air resistance to slow it down. what
will happen to the wrenchs motion over time? will it
eventually stop? why or why not?

Explanation:

According to Newton's first law of motion (the law of inertia), an object in motion will stay in motion with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. In deep space, there is no air resistance (a form of external force) to slow down the wrench.

Answer:

The wrench will continue to move at a constant velocity and will not stop. This is because of Newton's first law of motion (the law of inertia), which states that an object in motion will remain in motion with a constant velocity when there is no external force acting on it. Since there is no air resistance (an external force) in deep space to slow it down, the wrench will not stop.