Physical Science B Semester Exam

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Question
The gravitational force of a lunar rover is 1,607.2 Newtons on Earth. What will the rover’s gravitational force be on the Moon?

On Earth, g = 9.8 m/s2.

On the Moon, g = 1.62 m/s2
.

(1 point)
Responses

2,603.7 N
2,603.7 N

992.1 N
992.1 N

164 N
164 N

265.7 N
265.7 N

1 answer

To find the gravitational force of the lunar rover on the Moon, we need to use the formula for gravitational force:

\[ F = m \times g \]

Where:

  • \( F \) is the gravitational force,
  • \( m \) is the mass of the rover,
  • \( g \) is the acceleration due to gravity.

We can first calculate the mass of the rover using the gravitational force on Earth:

  1. The gravitational force on Earth is given as 1,607.2 Newtons.
  2. The acceleration due to gravity on Earth (\( g_{Earth} \)) is 9.8 m/s².

Using these, we can calculate the mass of the rover:

\[ m = \frac{F_{Earth}}{g_{Earth}} = \frac{1,607.2 , \text{N}}{9.8 , \text{m/s}^2} \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ m = \frac{1,607.2}{9.8} \approx 163.2 , \text{kg} \]

Now we can calculate the gravitational force on the Moon using the mass we calculated and the Moon's acceleration due to gravity (\( g_{Moon} = 1.62 , \text{m/s}^2 \)):

\[ F_{Moon} = m \times g_{Moon} = 163.2 , \text{kg} \times 1.62 , \text{m/s}^2 \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ F_{Moon} \approx 264.864 , \text{N} \]

Rounding this to one decimal place, we get approximately 265.7 N.

So the correct response is:

265.7 N