Question

16. On the moon, Bob weighs 160 N while on earth Fred weighs 882 N Who has thegreater mass?

Answer 1

We are given the weight of two people, one on the moon and the other on earth. To determine the mass we will use the following formula:

`W=mg`

Where:

`\begin{gathered} W=\text{ weight,}\lbrack N\rbrack \\ m=\text{ mass,}\lbrack kg\rbrack \\ g=\text{ acceleration of gravity, }\lbrack(m)/(s^2)\rbrack \end{gathered}`

Now, we solve for the mass "m" by dividing both sides by "g":

`(W)/(g)=m`

Now, for the case of the moon we have that the acceleration of gravity is:

`g_(moon)=1.62(m)/(s^2)`

Plugging in the values:

`(160N)/(1.62(m)/(s^2))=m`

Solving the operations:

`98.77kg=m`

Now, for the case of the earth we have:

`g_{\text{earth}}=9.8(m)/(s^2)`

Plugging in the values:

`(882N)/(9.8(m)/(s^2))=m`

Solving the operations:

`90kg=m`

Therefore, the greater mass is the mass of Bob.