Question

The severity of a fall depends on your speed when you strike the ground. All factors but the acceleration from gravity being the same, how many times higher could a safe fall occur on the Moon than on Earth (gravitational acceleration on the Moon is about one-sixth that of the Earth)?

a) 1/6
b) 1/3
c) 1/2
d) 2/3

Answer 1

A safe fall could occur six times higher on the Moon than on Earth because the gravitational acceleration on the Moon is 1/6th that of Earth, and therefore an object at six times the height would have the same impact speed. Thus, the answer to the question is that a safe fall could occur six times higher on the Moon than on Earth.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks how many times higher a safe fall could occur on the Moon compared to Earth given that the gravitational acceleration on the Moon is about 1/6th that of Earth. To determine this, we can consider the energy involved in a fall.

The potential energy (PE) is given by the formula PE = mgh, where m is mass, g is acceleration due to gravity, and h is height. On the Moon, the potential energy at a particular height would be less due to the lower value of g.

Since kinetic energy (KE) at the point of impact depends on potential energy when an object is in free fall, and the acceleration on the Moon is 1/6th of that on Earth, the height at which the KE upon impact would be the same would be six times higher on the Moon than the height on Earth.

Thus, the answer to the question is that a safe fall could occur six times higher on the Moon than on Earth.