A certain planet is a uniform sphere of mass M and radius R of 5.1 x 10^6 m. State an expression, in terms of M and R, for the gravitational field strength at the surface of the planet. State the name of any other symbol you may use.

Answer 1

The gravitational field strength at the surface of the planet can be expressed as:

g = G * (M / R^2)

where:
g is the gravitational field strength
G is the gravitational constant (6.67430 × 10^-11 N m^2/kg^2)
M is the mass of the planet
R is the radius of the planet