Question:
If a person weighs 540 newtons on earth what is the
person's mass? What would the person weigh on the moon where the
acceleration due to gravity is 1.67 newtons per kilogram?
Replies:
Divide the weight of the person 540 newton by the acceleration due to
gravity (9.8m/s/s) which will give the yield the mass of the person 55.1
Kilogram. Multiply 55.1 KG x 1.67 Newton/Kg for the weight on the moon
and the result is 92 newton. The ratio of 540/92 is 5.86, hence the
weight of a person on the earth is 5.86 times greater than that on the
moon.
Dr. Myron
Hello,
Force or weight (in Newton) = mass (in kg) x gravitational acceleration (in
m/s2).
540 N=mass x 9.8 (on earth) => mass = 55 kg.
On the moon, gravitational acceleration is about one sixth of the earth's,
that is, about 1.67 m/s2. Therefore, the weight of the same person on the
moon is:
Weight = 55 kg x 1.6 m/s2 = 92 Newton.
Dr. Ali Khounsary
Advanced Photon Source
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL 60439
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