Answer:
The question is incomplete, below is the complete question:
The acceleration due to gravity on the moon is 1.6 m/s2, about a sixth that of earth’s. which accurately describes the weight of an object on the moon?
A. an object on the moon is 1/6 times lighter than on earth.
B. an object on the moon is 1/6 times heavier than on earth.
C. an object on the moon is six times lighter than on earth.
D. an object on the moon is six times heavier than on earth.
The correct answer is:
an object on the moon is six times lighter than on earth. (C)
Explanation:
acceleration due to gravity is the effect of gravitational force on an object, making it gain acceleration. It is a vector quantity, because it has magnitude and direction and it is measured with the S.I unit m/s². On the earth surface, acceleration due to gravity is represented by the letter <em>g</em> and it has a value of approximately 9.8m/s².
Because the size of the earth is larger than the moon, the acceleration due to gravity on the earth is larger than that on the moonby about six times, making the acceleration due to gravity on the moon to be about 1.6m/s².
Next, weight is defined as the product of mass and acceleration due to gravity. It is the result from a gravitational pull on a mass, and like force, it is measured in Newton.
Weight = m × g (N)
From the formula of weight above, it is discovered that weight is directly proportional to mass and gravitational acceleration:
weight ∝ mass;
weight ∝ acceleration due to gravity.
From the latter, it means that as the acceleration due to gravity increases, the weight increases and vice versa.
For example let us calculate the weights of a 10kg object on the earth and on the moon.
Acceleration due to gravity on the earth (g₁) = 9.8m/s².
Acceleration due to gravity on the moon (g₂) = 1.6m/s².
On the earth:
weight = m × g₁ = 10 × 9.8 = 98 N.
on the moon:
weight = m × g₂ = 10 × 1.6 = 16 N.
from the above example, because the acceleration due to gravity is on the moon 1/6 that of the earth the weight of a 10kg object on the moon is about 6 times lighter (16 N.) than the weight of that object on the earth (98 N.).
