Gravitational Force Worksheet

1.      A piece of space debris has a mass of 3 kg.  It is located 1500 m from an asteroid.  If the force of gravity is 0.4 N between them, what is the mass of the asteroid?

2.     A 6*10¹¹ moon in a distant galaxy experiences 1 N force of attraction between it and a 10*10²³ kg planet.  How far apart are they?

3.     You weigh 398 N on earth, but today you are visiting Mars.  The radius of Mars is 3.38*10⁶, mass = 6.42*10²³ kg.  What is the acceleration of gravity on Mars?

• 3.76 m/s/s

• 7.29 m/s/s

• 1.34 m/s/s

• 5.28 m/s/s

4.    You weigh 398 N on earth, but today you are visiting Mars.  The radius of Mars is 3.38*10⁶, mass = 6.42*10²³ kg.  How much do you weigh on Mars?

• 153 N

• 10.8 N

• 40.6 kg

• 238 N

5.   If you drop a 4.20 kg rock from the surface of Mars and it falls 1.80 m, how fast will it be going just before it hits the surface?

• -3.68 m/s

• -4.56 m/s

• -2.81 m/s

• -1.49 m/s

6.   If the mass of Mercury is 3.3*10²³ kg and its radius is 2.4*10⁶ m, estimate the gravitational acceleration (g) at the surface of Mercury.

• 3.84 m/s/s

• 9.21 m/s/s

• 4.62 m/s/s

• 2.93 m/s/s

7.      An object of mass 0.5 kg is transported to the surface of Planet X where the object’s weight is measured to be 25 N.  The radius of the planet is 3*10⁷ m.  What is the mass of the planet?

8.      An object of mass 0.5 kg is transported to the surface of Planet X where the object’s weight is measured to be 25 N.  The radius of the planet is 3*10⁷ m.  What free fall acceleration will the 0.5 kg object experience when transported to a distance of 2.0*10⁶ m from the surface of the planet?  (Not on the surface!)

• 43.97 m/s/s

• 50 m/s/s

• 49.23 m/s/s

9.a.    The closest moon to Saturn, Mimas, has an orbital radius of 185,000,000 m from Saturn’s core.  What is the tangential velocity of Mimas as it orbits?

• 14343 m/s

• 319292 m/s

• 52 m/s

9. b.      What centripetal force does Mimas (mass = 3.8*10⁹ kg) experience due to Saturn’s gravitational pull?