Gravity and Weights on Other Planets

Name ______Date ______Period ____

Gravity and Weights on Other Planets

You have probably seen video footage of astronauts walking on the moon. They seem to float between each step. This is due to the fact that the moon has about 1/6 the amount of gravity that Earth has. Well, if you went to the moon, you’d weight less than you do here on Earth. Does this mean you would actually be thinner on the moon? Absolutely not! Your mass would be the same - there is no less of you on the moon. But your weight is different because the moon’s gravity is different. The same ideas apply if you travel to all the planets in our solar system.

Pre-Lab:

1. What is weight? What affects your weight?

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2. What is gravity?

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3. Everything has ______

4. What is mass?

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5. A person with more ______has more ______,

and therefore ______more.

Procedure:

1.  All boys should use 130lbs as their weight. All girls should use 100lbs as their weight.

2.  Convert your weight to kilograms.

3.  Record your mass in the chart on the back of this page. (Assume mass is equal to your weight on Earth)

4.  Multiply your mass times the gravity in each row to figure out your weight at each location.

5.  Where do you weight the most? Where do you weigh the least?

Weight Chart:

To calculate your weight: W=mg

Post Lab Questions:

1. Identify a planet that has a similar gravitational attraction as Earth. ______

2. List the planets’ gravitational attraction from greatest to least.

3. Compare the multiplication factors in the chart. Judging from these factors, which planet do you think has the greatest mass? ______

4. What if your doctor told your aunt that weighing 165lbs at 5’4” makes her 20lbs overweight - to which planet could she travel to be an acceptable weight? ______Justify (explain) your answer.

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Gravity and Weight on Other Planets