Fig. 1 shows an astronaut standing on the moon during a mission from earth. The astronaut has a mass of 68 kg. The gravitational field strength at the moon’...
Question 1 Report
Fig. 1 shows an astronaut standing on the moon during a mission from earth. The astronaut has a mass of 68 kg. The gravitational field strength at the moon’s surface is 1.6 N/kg. A force acts between the astronaut and the moon, even though the moon has much less mass than earth.
(a) State the name of the force shown by the arrow. [1]
(b) Calculate the astronaut’s weight on the moon. [2]
(c) Explain why the astronaut’s mass is still 68 kg on the moon. [2]
(d) State the direction of the gravitational field at the moon’s surface. [1]
Answer Details
(a) The arrow shows gravitational force, also called gravity. [1]
(b) Use \(W=mg\).
\[W=68\text{ kg}\times1.6\text{ N/kg}=108.8\text{ N}\]
The astronaut's weight is \(109\text{ N}\), or \(110\text{ N}\) to appropriate precision. [2]
(c) Mass is the amount of matter in the astronaut. [1] It does not depend on gravitational field strength or location, so it remains \(68\text{ kg}\) on the Moon. [1]
(d) The gravitational field direction at the Moon's surface is towards the centre of the Moon. [1]
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