Question

Knowing that the mass of the moon is 1/80 of the mass of the Earth and its radius is ¼ of the radius of Earth. Determine the gravity on the surface of the moon and the weight of the person, knowing they have a mass of 80 Kg.

a) Gravity on the surface of the moon: 1.63 m/s²; Weight on the moon: 130 N
b) Gravity on the surface of the moon: 5.76 m/s²; Weight on the moon: 460 N
c) Gravity on the surface of the moon: 1.63 m/s²; Weight on the moon: 6.25 N
d) Gravity on the surface of the moon: 5.76 m/s²; Weight on the moon: 640 N

Answer 1

The correct answer is option (a): The gravity on the surface of the Moon is 1.63 m/s², and the weight of an 80 kg person on the Moon would be 130 N. This calculation uses the known value of gravity on Earth and the Moon's gravity being approximately 1/6 of that.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question essentially asks to determine the gravitational acceleration on the surface of the Moon and the resulting weight of a person with a mass of 80 kg. Based on the provided information that the Moon's gravity is about 1/6 of Earth's gravity, we can use the value of Earth's gravity (9.8 m/s²) to calculate the gravity on the Moon. Since the Moon's gravity is significantly weaker due to its smaller mass and size, the gravity on its surface is typically given as 1.63 m/s² or 1.67 m/s² in various sources.

To find the weight of an 80 kg person on the Moon:

• Weight on the Moon = mass × Moon's gravity
• Weight on the Moon = 80 kg × 1.63 m/s²
• Weight on the Moon = 130 N

Therefore, the correct answer is: Gravity on the surface of the moon: 1.63 m/s²; Weight on the moon: 130 N, which corresponds to option (a).