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11 grade physics others

How much is the weight of an object on the moon as compared to its weight on the earth? Give reason for your answer.

Profile image of Aniket Singh
1 Year agoGrade
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1 Answer

Profile image of Askiitians Tutor Team
1 Year ago

The weight of an object on the moon is approximately 1/6th (16.6%) of its weight on Earth. This difference is due to the variation in gravitational pull between the two celestial bodies.

The force of gravity is responsible for the weight of an object. On Earth, the gravitational acceleration is about 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s²). This means that for every kilogram of mass an object has, it experiences a force of approximately 9.8 newtons (N).

The moon, however, has a much weaker gravitational pull compared to Earth. The gravitational acceleration on the moon is only about 1.6 m/s². Therefore, if you were to bring an object to the moon that weighed 100 N on Earth, its weight on the moon would be only about 16.6 N (100 N * 1.6 m/s² ÷ 9.8 m/s²).

This difference in gravitational pull is due to the moon's smaller mass compared to Earth. The moon has only about 1/6th the mass of Earth, so it exerts less gravitational force on objects at its surface.

It's important to note that while the weight of an object decreases on the moon, its mass remains the same. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object and does not change with the location. Weight, on the other hand, depends on the gravitational force acting on the object and varies with the strength of the gravitational field.