Gravity on Other Planets Worksheet
Goal: Calculate surface gravity, weight and escape speed on other worlds, and explain how mass and radius each affect gravity.
What to do
- Leave Your mass at 70 kg. Press the “Earth” preset and record surface gravity, weight and escape speed.
- Press the “Moon” and “Mars” presets and record the same values.
- Model Jupiter: set Planet mass to 317.8 and Planet radius to 11.21. Record the values.
- Press “Earth” again, then change Planet radius to 2 while Planet mass stays at 1. Record the values.
Record your results
| Setting | Surface gravity | Your weight | Escape speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth | |||
| Moon | |||
| Mars | |||
| Jupiter (317.8 Earth masses, 11.21 Earth radii) | |||
| Earth’s mass, twice Earth’s radius |
Questions
Your mass is 70 kg everywhere. Use your Moon results to explain the difference between mass and weight.
How many times stronger is gravity on Earth than on Mars? Show your calculation.
Jupiter has about 318 times Earth’s mass, yet its surface gravity is only about 2.5 times Earth’s. Why?
Predict, then check: if Earth kept its mass but doubled its radius, what would its surface gravity be? Explain with g = GM/R².
Rank the Moon, Mars, Earth and Jupiter by escape speed. What does this mean for launching rockets?
Jupiter has no solid surface. What does “surface gravity” mean for a gas giant?
Free from The Astronomy Lab · theastronomylab.com · MS-ESS1-3: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. HS-PS2-4: Use Newton’s law of gravitation to describe and predict gravitational forces between objects.