Question

The mass of a bag of sugar is 1kg

On earth the weight of this bag of sugar is 10N
On mars the weight of this bag of sugar is 4N

Suggest why the weight of this bag of sugar is different on earth and on mars.

Answer 1

See below

Step-by-step explanation:

The weight of an object on the surface of a planet is given by

`F = G(mM)/(r^2)\\\\`

where F is the force or weight in Newtons

G is the universal gravitational constant

m is the mass of the object

M is the mass of the planet

r is the radius of the planet

Mars has a smaller radius and smaller mass than the Earth.

The gravitational force on Mars is approximately 38% of the gravitational force on Earth because of the smaller mass and smaller radius

So an object weighing about 10N on earth will weigh only about 3.8N ≈ 4N