Question

The severity of a fall depends on your speed when you strike the ground. All factors but the acceleration due to gravity being the same, how many times higher could a safe fall on the Moon be than on Earth (gravitational acceleration on the Moon is about 1/6 that of the Earth)?

a) 6 times.

b) 1/6 times.

c) 36 times.

d) 1/36 times.

Answer 1

The severity of a fall depends on the speed at which you strike the ground. If all factors except acceleration due to gravity are the same, a safe fall on the Moon could be 6 times higher than on Earth.

Step-by-step explanation:

The severity of a fall depends on the speed at which you strike the ground. If all factors except acceleration due to gravity are the same, we can compare how many times higher a safe fall on the Moon could be compared to Earth. The gravitational acceleration on the Moon is about 1/6 that of Earth.

To find the answer, we can use the formula:

Height = (1/2) * g * t^2

Where g is the gravitational acceleration and t is the time of free fall. Since we are comparing safe falls, we can assume that the time of free fall is the same on both the Moon and Earth.

Let's assume we drop an object from a height of 1 meter on Earth:

1. On Earth: Height = (1/2) * gEarth * t^2
2. On the Moon: Height = (1/2) * gMoon * t^2

Since we are assuming the time of free fall is the same, we can equate the two equations:

(1/2) * gEarth * t^2 = (1/2) * gMoon * t^2

Dividing both sides by (1/2) * t^2, we get:

gEarth = gMoon * (1/6)

Therefore, the gravitational acceleration on Earth is 6 times that on the Moon.

So, a safe fall on the Moon could be 6 times higher than on Earth (all other factors being the same).