Question

The acceleration due to gravity on the surface of Mars is about one third the acceleration due to gravity on Earth's surface. The weight of a space probe on the surface of Mars is about

Answer 1

About 1/3 of the weight of the probe on Earth's surface

Step-by-step explanation:

The weight of the probe is given by

W = mg

where

W is the weigth

m is the mass of the probe

g is the acceleration due to gravity

We notice that:

- m (the mass) is constant, since it depends only on the properties of the probe, so it does not change when the probe moves to Mars

- g' (the acceleration due to gravity on Mars) is 1/3 of g (acceleration due to gravity on Earth)

So, the weight of the probe on Mars surface is

`W' = mg'=m((1)/(3)g)=(1)/(3)(mg)=(1)/(3)W`

So, the weight of the probe on Mars surface is 1/3 the weight of the probe on Earth's surface.