Serway & Jewett — Universal Gravitation: Problem 32

(a) A space vehicle is launched vertically upward from the Earth’s surface with an initial speed of \(v_i\) that is comparable to but less than the escape speed \(v_{esc}\). What maximum height does it attain? (b) A meteoroid falls toward the Earth. It is essentially at rest with respect to the Earth when it is at a height \(h\) above the Earth’s surface. With what speed does the meteorite (a meteoroid that survives to impact the Earth’s surface) strike the Earth? (c) What If? Assume a baseball is tossed up with an initial speed that is very small compared to the escape speed. Show that the result from part (a) is consistent with Equation 4.19.