Question 156: Gravitation

Question

A person whose mass is 100 kg travels from Earth to Mars in a spaceship. Neglect all  other objects in sky and take acceleration due to gravity on the surface of the Earth and Mars as 10 m/s
2
and 4 m/s
2
respectively. Identify from the below figures, the curve that fits best for the weight of the passenger as a function of time.

Accepted Answer

Given,
Acceleration due to gravity on Earth, g
E
= 10 m/s
2
and acceleration due to gravity on Mars, g
M
= 4 m/s
2
We know that, g
E
(at height h) = $${g_{Earth}}\left( {1 - {{2h} \over R}} ight)$$
$$	herefore$$ Weight at Earth, mg
E
= 100 $$	imes$$ 10 = 1000 N
As the spaceship moves far away from Earth, the value of g
E
decreases to zero at a point where g
E
+ g
M
= 0 and hence weight will also be zero.
This point is called neutral point and is shown by graph (c) in the given figure.
Then, g
E
increases 4ms
$$-$$2
at Mars surface and weight becomes 400N which is also exhibited by graph (c).

Answer

(b)

Answer

(c)

Answer

(d)

Answer

(a)

Gravitation

Choose the correct answer: