Comic-strip hero Superman meets an asteroid in outer space, and hurls it at 850 m/s, as fast as a bullet. The asteroid is three thousand times more massive than Superman. In the strip, Superman is seen at rest after the throw. Taking physics into account, what would be his recoil velocity?

Question

anonymous · Answer

$MV+mv=0$ Here M=3000m and V=850 m/s.

stormfire1 · Answer

Use Conservation of Momentum which states:
m1v1 = -m2v2

3000m * 850 m/s = -1m * 2,550,000 m/s

stormfire1 · Answer

BTW: The above assumes that both objects were initially at rest.