Question

Planet A has twice the mass of Planet B. From this information, what can we conclude about the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of Planet A compared to that at the surface of Planet B?

a) The acceleration due to gravity on Planet A must be four times as great as the acceleration due to gravity on Planet B
b) The acceleration due to gravity on Planet A must be twice as great as the acceleration due to gravity on Planet B.
c) The acceleration due to gravity on Planet A is greater than the acceleration due to gravity on Planet B, but we cannot say how much greater
d) The acceleration due to gravity on Planet A is the same as the acceleration due to gravity on Planet B.
e) We cannot conclude anything about the acceeration due to gravity on Planet A without knowing the radii of the two planets.

Answer 1

The acceleration due to gravity at the surface of Planet A compared to that at the surface of Planet B is greater, but we cannot say how much greater without knowing the radii of the two planets.

Step-by-step explanation:

The acceleration due to gravity at the surface of Planet A compared to that at the surface of Planet B can be determined by using the formula for gravitational acceleration:

g = G * (m/r^2)

Where g is the acceleration due to gravity, G is the gravitational constant, m is the mass of the planet, and r is the radius of the planet.

Since Planet A has twice the mass of Planet B, we can conclude that the acceleration due to gravity on Planet A is greater than the acceleration due to gravity on Planet B. However, without knowing the radii of the two planets, we cannot determine how much greater the acceleration due to gravity on Planet A is compared to Planet B. Therefore, the correct answer is c) The acceleration due to gravity on Planet A is greater than the acceleration due to gravity on Planet B, but we cannot say how much greater.