Question

Give the value of g on the surface of the moon.

Answer 1

1. The acceleration produced in a freely falling body due to the gravitational pull of the earth is called the acceleration due to gravity.
2. It is denoted by ‘g’, and its value is given by $g=\frac{GM}{R^2}$, where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the planet and R is the distance of the object from the center of the planet.
3. We know that the value of G is $6.67x{10}^{-11}N{m}^{2}k{g}^{-2}$, mass (M) of the moon is $7.4x{10}^{22}kg$ and radius (R) of the moon is $1.74x{10}^{6}m$.
4. By substituting these values in the above expression, we get

$$\begin{gathered} g=\frac{(6.67x{10}^{-11})\times (7.4x{10}^{22})}{{(1.74x{10}^6)}^2} \\ =\frac{49.34x{10}^{11}}{3.02x{10}^{12}} \\ =16.33x{10}^{-1} \\ =1.63m{s}^{-2} \end{gathered}$$

Hence, the value of g on the surface of the moon is 1.63 ms^-2.