Suppose mass and radius of the planet are half and twice that of earth respectively. If acceleration due to gravity of the earth is 10m/s2. Find acceleration due to gravity of that planet?

Answer :

skyluke89

Answer:

[tex]1.25 m/s^2[/tex]

Explanation:

The acceleration of gravity at the surface of a planet 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

Calling M the Earth's mass and R the Earth's radius, the equation above represents the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface, and so

[tex]g=10 m/s^2[/tex]

Here we have a planet with:

M' = M/2 (mass is half that of Earth)

R' = 2R (radius is twice that of Earth)

So the acceleration due to gravity of this planet is:

[tex]g'=\frac{GM'}{R'^2}=\frac{G(M/2)}{(2R)^2}=\frac{1}{8}(\frac{GM}{R^2})=\frac{g}{8}=\frac{10}{8}=1.25 m/s^2[/tex]

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