Get Answers to all your Questions

header-bg qa

 Why is the weight of an object on the moon  \frac{1}{6}th  its weight on the earth?

Answers (1)

best_answer

The weight of an object on the moon would be given by

W_{M}=G\frac{M_{M}m}{r_{_{M}}^{2}}

where MM is the mass of the moon, m is mass of the body, rM is the radius of the moon and G is the gravitational constant.

The weight of an object on the Earth would be given by

W_{E}=G\frac{M_{E}m}{r_{_{E}}^{2}}

where ME and rare the mass and radius of the earth respectively.

\frac{W_{M}}{W_{E}}=\frac{M_{M}r_{E}^{2}}{M_{E}r_{M}^{2}}

The above ratio is approximately equal to 1/6 and this is why the weight of an object on the moon  (1/6)th of  its weight on the earth

Posted by

Sayak

View full answer