A rocket ship at rest in space gives a short blast of its engine, firing 50 kg of exhaust gas out the back end with an average velocity of 400 m/s. What is the change in momentum of the rocket during this blast?

20,000 Ns

Explanation:

mass of exhaust gases, m = 50 kg

velocity of exhaust gases, v = 400 m/s

The momentum of a body is defined as the measurement of motion of body. mathematically, it is defined as the product of mass off the body an its velocity.

change in momentum of rocket = final momentum - initial momentum

= m x v - 0

= 50 x 400

= 20,000 Ns