Answer: E = 5.004*10^(20) joules
Explanation:
We do not have a lot of information about the impact, so we can assume that the energy released on the impact was the kinetic energy of the large fragment.
Remember that the kinetic energy of an object of mass M that moves at a velocity V is:
K = (M/2)*V^2
in this case, we know that the speed (that is equivalent to the velocity) is:
V = 60,000 m/s
And the mass is:
M = 1.39*10^(11) kg
Then the kinetic energy of the large fragment was:
K = (1.39*10^(11) kg/2)*( 60,000 m/s)^2 = 5.004*10^(20) joules.
Then we could conclude that the energy released on the impact was:
E = 5.004*10^(20) joules
