Weight and g: Two planets have the same surface gravity, but planet B has twice the mass of planet A. If planet A has radius r, what is the radius of planet B

Answer :

skyluke89

Answer:

the radius of planet B is [tex]\sqrt{2}[/tex] times the radius of planet A

Explanation:

The surface gravity of a planet is given by

[tex]g=\frac{GM}{R^2}[/tex]

where

G is the gravitational constant

M is the mass of the planet

R is the radius of the planet

For the two planets in the problem, we have:

[tex]g_A = g_B[/tex] (same gravity)

[tex]M_B = 2 M_A[/tex] (planet B has twice the mass of planet A)

So we can write

[tex]\frac{GM_A}{R_A^2}=\frac{GM_B}{R_B^2}\\\frac{M_A}{R_A^2}=\frac{2M_A}{R_B^2}\\R_B^2 = 2R_A^2 \rightarrow R_B = \sqrt{2} R_A[/tex]

so, the radius of planet B is [tex]\sqrt{2}[/tex] times the radius of planet A.

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