Question

One of the asteroids, Ida, looks like an elongated potato. Surprisingly it has a tiny (compared to Ida) spherical moon! This moon called Dactyl has a mass of 4.20 × 10^16 kg, and a radius of 1.57 × 10^4 meters, according to Wikipedia. Ida has a radius of 3.14 x 10^4 meters.

Find the acceleration of gravity on the surface of this little moon.

Answer 1

g = 0.0114 m/s²

Step-by-step explanation:

The value of acceleration due to gravity on the surface of the moon can be given by the following formula:

`g = (Gm)/(r^2)`

where,

g = acceleration due to gravity on the surface of moon = ?

G = Universal Gravitational Constant = 6.67 x 10⁻¹¹ N.m²/kg²

m = mass of moon = 4.2 x 10¹⁶ kg

r = radius of moon = 1.57 x 10⁴ m

Therefore,

`g= ((6.67\ x\ 10^(-11)\ N.m^2/kg^2)(4.2\ x\ 10^(16)\ kg))/((1.57\ x\ 10^4\ m)^2)`

g = 0.0114 m/s²