Question

1 on november 12th, 2014 the philae lander touched down on comet 67p/c - g. unfortunately it bounced after the initial collision instead of clinging to the surface as planned. which of the following are true about the forces involved in this collision? a the forces in the collision were in the same direction. b the comet exerted more force than the lander because it has more mass. c the lander exerted more force than the comet because action forces always have more magnitude than reaction force. d the force exerted by the comet was equal and opposite to the force exerted by the lander.

Explanation:

According to Newton's third - law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the collision between the Philae Lander and comet 67P/C - G, the force exerted by the lander on the comet and the force exerted by the comet on the lander are an action - reaction pair. So the force exerted by the comet is equal and opposite to the force exerted by the lander.

Answer:

D. The force exerted by the comet was equal and opposite to the force exerted by the lander.