The table shows the acceleration due to gravity on four different planets. What planet is a person standing on if the person has a mass of 85.0 kg and weighs 305 N?
a
Earth
b
Mercury
c
Venus
d
Mars
The weight of an object can be calculated using the formula:
Weight = mass * acceleration due to gravity
In this case, we know that the person's weight is 305 N and mass is 85.0 kg. We can substitute these values into the formula to find the acceleration due to gravity on the planet:
305 N = 85.0 kg * acceleration due to gravity
To find the acceleration due to gravity, we rearrange the formula:
acceleration due to gravity = 305 N / 85.0 kg = 3.5882 m/s^2
Looking at the table, we can see that the acceleration due to gravity on Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s^2, on Mercury it is approximately 3.7 m/s^2, on Venus it is approximately 8.9 m/s^2, and on Mars it is approximately 3.7 m/s^2.
Since the acceleration due to gravity calculated is closest to the value for Mars (3.7 m/s^2), we can conclude that the person is standing on Mars. Therefore, the answer is d) Mars.