Problemas
Critical Thinking 9 Infer The weight of an object on a planet depends not only on its mass, but also on its distance from the planet's center. This table lists the weight of 80 kg on each planet in the solar system Uranus has more than 14 times as much mass as Earth, yet the gravitational force is less. Explain how this could be.
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Josefina
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Respuesta
The weight of an object on a planet depends not only on its mass, but also on its distance from the planet's center. This is because the gravitational force, which determines weight, is directly proportional to the mass of the planet and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the object and the center of the planet. Therefore, even if a planet has a greater mass, if the distance between the object and the center of the planet is significantly greater, the gravitational force (and thus the weight of the object) can be less. This is the case with Uranus. Despite having more than 14 times the mass of Earth, the distance from the object to the center of Uranus is much greater than the distance from the object to the center of Earth. This greater distance results in a weaker gravitational force, and thus a lower weight for the same object on Uranus compared to Earth.
Explicación
The weight of an object on a planet is determined by the gravitational force exerted by the planet on the object. The gravitational force is directly proportional to the mass of the planet and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the object and the center of the planet. Therefore, even if a planet has a greater mass, if the distance between the object and the center of the planet is significantly greater, the gravitational force (and thus the weight of the object) can be less. This is the case with Uranus. Despite having more than 14 times the mass of Earth, the distance from the object to the center of Uranus is much greater than the distance from the object to the center of Earth. This greater distance results in a weaker gravitational force, and thus a lower weight for the same object on Uranus compared to Earth.