High School

The acceleration of gravity on the surface of Mars is about 38% that on Earth. If the oxygen tank carried by an astronaut weighs 300 lb on Earth, what does it weigh on Mars?

A. 790 lb
B. 300 lb
C. 135 lb
D. 114 lb

Answer :

The weight of the oxygen tank on Mars is approximately 114 lb, which corresponds to option D) in the given choices.

The weight of an object is determined by the force of gravity acting on it. On Mars, the acceleration due to gravity is approximately 38% of that on Earth. Since weight is directly proportional to acceleration due to gravity, we can calculate the weight of the oxygen tank on Mars.

Given that the weight of the oxygen tank on Earth is 300 lb, we can use the ratio of Mars' gravity to Earth's gravity to find its weight on Mars.

Weight on Mars = (Weight on Earth) * (Mars' gravity / Earth's gravity)

Weight on Mars = 300 lb * (0.38)

Weight on Mars ≈ 114 lb

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Final answer:

The oxygen tank that weighs 300 lb on Earth would weigh 114 lb on Mars, because Mars has approximately 38% the gravitational acceleration of Earth.

Explanation:

If an oxygen tank weighs 300 lb on Earth, to find out what it would weigh on Mars, we first need to understand that weight is a measure of the force of gravity on an object and can be calculated using the equation: Weight = Mass × Gravity. Since mass is constant but gravity differs on other planets, we can adjust the weight proportionally by the difference in gravitational acceleration. On Earth, the acceleration due to gravity is approximately 9.8 m/s², whereas on Mars it is about 3.71 m/s², which is roughly 38% of Earth's gravity.

To calculate the weight on Mars, we can thus take 38% of the weight on Earth, which gives us:
Weight on Mars = Weight on Earth × (Gravity on Mars/Gravity on Earth)
Weight on Mars = 300 lb × 0.38

The calculation provides us a weight of approximately 114 lb on Mars. Therefore, the oxygen tank would weigh 114 lb on the surface of Mars.