Explanation
Correct answer: A.
Choice A is correct. It's given that the rocket contained kilograms (kg) of propellant before launch and had kg remaining exactly seconds after launch. Finding the difference between the amount, in , of propellant before launch and the remaining amount, in , of propellant after launch gives the amount, in , of propellant burned during the seconds: . Dividing the amount of propellant burned by the number of seconds yields . Thus, an average of kg of propellant burned each second after launch.
Desmos solution:
Note: The regression 467000 - 21r \sim 362105 solves for the burn rate r, giving exactly 4,995 kg per second.
Enter in Desmos:
Reviewed and rewritten by CookSAT
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice C
Choice C is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect and may result from finding the amount of propellant burned, rather than the amount of propellant burned each second.