Question

venus 4.87 mars 0.642 jupiter 1,898.0 neptune 102.0 a spacecraft flies within 500,000 km of each of these planets. based on its mass, which planet would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least? (1 point) responses neptune neptune mars mars jupiter jupiter venus williams

Answer 1

To determine which planet would gravitationally attract a spacecraft the least, we can look at the masses of the planets in relation to the distances from the spacecraft. The gravitational attraction of a planet on an object is determined by the formula:

\[ F = \frac{G \cdot m_1 \cdot m_2}{r^2} \]

where:
- \( F \) is the gravitational force,
- \( G \) is the gravitational constant,
- \( m_1 \) is the mass of the planet,
- \( m_2 \) is the mass of the spacecraft,
- \( r \) is the distance between the center of the planet and the spacecraft.

The planet with the smallest mass will exert the least gravitational force on the spacecraft, assuming the distance is the same for all planets (500,000 km in this case).

From the provided data, here are the masses of the planets in units that are easier to compare:

- Venus: 4.87 x 10^24 kg
- Mars: 0.642 x 10^24 kg
- Jupiter: 1,898 x 10^24 kg
- Neptune: 102 x 10^24 kg

Based on the masses provided, Mars has the smallest mass (0.642 x 10^24 kg).

Thus, the planet that would gravitationally attract the spacecraft the least is **Mars**.