A meteoroid is a small fragment of rock that orbits a planet or the sun. When a meteoroid enters a planet's atmosphere, it most likely will burn up entirely, glowing brilliantly as it does so. It is then referred to as a meteor. Consider a meteoroid that has an initial speed of 15.00 km/s when it enters the thin upper region of Earth's atmosphere. Suppose this meteoroid encounters a force of resistance with a magnitude of 9.00 x 10⁻² N, so that after it travels 500.0 km parallel to Earth's surface the meteoroid's speed is 14.97 km/s. Assume that the meteoroid does not lose any mass as its temperature increases, and that the change in the gravitational potential energy is negligible. What is the mass of the meteoroid?

a) 0.50 kg
b) 1.0 kg
c) 2.0 kg
d) 4.0 kg