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An astronaut is on Mars. From the window of their space ship they accidentally drop a wrench 10 meters above the ground. The wrench takes 2.54 seconds to hit the ground. What is the acceleration due to gravity on Mars?

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Final answer:

By using the kinematic equation for uniformly accelerated motion and solving for acceleration, the wrench's fall on Mars indicates that the acceleration due to gravity is approximately 3.09 m/s^2. However, the generally accepted value for Mars' gravity is 3.71 m/s^2, and the difference might be due to experimental error.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the acceleration due to gravity on Mars from the scenario of a wrench being dropped and taking 2.54 seconds to hit the ground from a height of 10 meters, we apply the kinematic equation for uniformly accelerated motion: s = ut + {1}/{2}at^2, where s is the displacement, u is the initial velocity, t is the time, and a is the acceleration due to gravity. In this case, the initial velocity u is zero since the wrench is dropped, and s is 10 meters, with t being 2.54 seconds. Therefore, the equation simplifies to 10 = 0 + \frac{1}{2}a(2.54)^2, solving for a gives us the acceleration due to gravity on Mars.

By performing the arithmetic, we have that 10 = {1}/{2}a(6.4516), so a is approximately 3.09 m/s^2. However, it's important to note that the accepted value for Mars' gravitational acceleration is 3.71 m/s^2. This discrepancy may be due to rounding or measurement errors in the scenario provided. The calculated value offers an estimate based on the conditions described in the question.

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