An explorer lands on a distant planet X of mass and radius .

PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Gravitation · Gravitation

Problem

An explorer lands on a distant planet X of mass

M_{X}

and radius

R_{X}

. (i) Derive an expression for the weight

W_{X}

of a body of mass

m

on the surface of planet X in terms of

G

M_{X}

and

R_{X}

. (ii) Given

M_{X}=1.9\times10^{27}\,\text{kg}

and

R_{X}=7.1\times10^{7}\,\text{m}

, calculate the weight of a

1.5\,\text{kg}

object on planet X. (iii) Determine the ratio of the weight obtained in part (ii) to the weight of the same object on Earth, taking

g=9.8\,\text{m s}^{-2}