College

12) An asteroid weighs 3700 N on Earth.

A) What is the mass of the asteroid?

B) The asteroid weighed 1408 N on its home planet. Use the gravitational acceleration chart to determine which planet or moon it came from.

Answer :

Final answer:

The mass of the asteroid is approximately 376.5 kg, calculated using its weight on Earth. On its home planet, where it weighs 1408 N, its gravitational acceleration is about 3.74 m/s², indicating that it most likely came from Mars.


Explanation:

Calculating the Mass of an Asteroid

To find the mass of the asteroid, we can use the formula that relates weight and mass:

Weight = Mass × Gravitational Acceleration

On Earth, the gravitational acceleration is approximately 9.81 m/s². Given the weight of the asteroid is 3700 N, we can rearrange the formula to solve for mass:

Mass = Weight / Gravitational Acceleration

Substituting in the values, we have:

Mass = 3700 N / 9.81 m/s² ≈ 376.5 kg

So, the mass of the asteroid is approximately 376.5 kg.

Determining the Home Planet

Next, to find out where the asteroid might have come from, we need to analyze its weight on the home planet where it weighs 1408 N. We again use the weight formula:

Weight = Mass × Gravitational Acceleration

Since we already found the mass of the asteroid to be approximately 376.5 kg, we can rearrange the formula to find the gravitational acceleration on the home planet:

Gravitational Acceleration = Weight / Mass

Substituting the known values, we have:

Gravitational Acceleration = 1408 N / 376.5 kg ≈ 3.74 m/s²

Using a gravitational acceleration chart, we can compare this value to various planets and moons. The gravitational acceleration of approximately 3.74 m/s² is similar to that of Mars (approximately 3.71 m/s²). Therefore, the asteroid likely originated from Mars.


Learn more about Asteroid mass and gravitational acceleration here:

https://brainly.com/question/32119792