Question

Explain which would take longer to fall, a rock dropped from 1 meter on the moon (gravity is about one-sixth of Earth) or a rock dropped from 1 meter on Mars (gravity is a little over one-third of Earth's). You can ignore air resistance on both planets.

a) Rock on the moon takes longer to fall.
b) Rock on Mars takes longer to fall.
c) Both rocks fall at the same rate.
d) It depends on the mass of the rock.

Answer 1

The rock dropped from 1 meter on Mars takes longer to fall than a rock dropped from 1 meter on the moon because Mars has a stronger gravitational pull.

Step-by-step explanation:

The rock dropped from 1 meter on the moon will take longer to fall than a rock dropped from 1 meter on Mars. This is because the acceleration due to gravity on the moon is about one-sixth of Earth's gravity, while the acceleration due to gravity on Mars is a little over one-third of Earth's gravity.

Acceleration due to gravity is a measure of how quickly an object falls. The greater the acceleration due to gravity, the faster an object falls. Since the rock on Mars experiences a stronger gravitational pull than the rock on the Moon, it will fall faster and take less time to reach the ground.

Therefore, the correct answer is b) Rock on Mars takes longer to fall.