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Mass, Weight & Gravity on Other Worlds Worksheet

Class 9 Science Ā· about 30 minutes Ā· open the simulation at jugnix.com/simulations/weight-on-planets

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By the end you will: tell mass from weight, use W = mg on different worlds, and predict jump heights and fall times.

A. Explore with the simulation

  1. Set your mass to 50 kg. Visit each world and fill in the table.

    Worldg (m/sĀ²)Your weight (N)Jump heightBall falls 10 m in
    Earth9.81
    Moon1.62
    Mars3.71
    Jupiter24.79

  2. Does your mass change from world to world? Does your weight?

  3. On which world in the list would you jump highest? Why?

B. Calculate (then check in the simulation)

  1. Find the weight of a 70 kg astronaut on Earth and on the Moon.

  2. A rover weighs 3,710 N on Mars (g = 3.71 m/sĀ²). What is its mass? What does it weigh on Earth?

  3. How long does a ball take to fall 20 m on Earth? (t = āˆš(2h Ć· g), g = 9.8 m/sĀ²)

C. Think it through

  1. A shopkeeper's beam balance gives the same reading on the Moon, but a spring balance doesn't. Why?

Answer key (for teachers and parents)

  1. Earth: 491 N, 50 cm, 1.43 s Ā· Moon: 81 N, 3.0 m, 3.51 s Ā· Mars: 186 N, 1.3 m, 2.32 s Ā· Jupiter: 1,240 N, 20 cm, 0.90 s.
  2. Mass stays 50 kg everywhere (it's the amount of matter). Weight changes because it's the pull of gravity, W = mg.
  3. Pluto (about 7.9 m), because its gravity is the weakest (0.62 m/sĀ²).
  4. Earth: 70 Ɨ 9.81 ā‰ˆ 687 N. Moon: 70 Ɨ 1.62 ā‰ˆ 113 N.
  5. m = 3,710 Ć· 3.71 = 1,000 kg. On Earth: 1,000 Ɨ 9.81 = 9,810 N.
  6. t = āˆš(40 Ć· 9.8) ā‰ˆ 2.0 s.
  7. A beam balance compares two masses, and gravity pulls both equally less. A spring balance measures the pull of gravity itself, which is 1/6 as strong on the Moon.

Free to print and share for teaching. Made with the interactive simulation at jugnix.com/simulations/weight-on-planets.