Q. A body has weight 90 kg on the earth’s surface, the mass of the moon is 1/9 that of the earth’s mass and its radius is 1/2 that of the earth’s radius. On the moon the weight of the body is

A) 45 kg
B) 202.5 kg
C) 90 kg
D) 40 kg
Explanation

(d) Acceleration due to gravity on earth is given by $g = \frac{GM}{R^{2}}$
$\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \left( Here,\ M_{m} = \frac{M_{e}}{9},R_{m} = \frac{R_{e}}{2} \right)$
$Hence,\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \frac{g_{e}}{g_{m}} = \frac{M_{e}}{M_{m}} \times \frac{R_{m}^{2}}{R_{e}^{2}} = \frac{9M_{e}}{M_{e}} \times \left( \frac{R_{e}}{2R_{e}} \right)^{2}$
$or\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \frac{g_{e}}{g_{m}} = \frac{9}{4}$
$So,\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \frac{g_{m}}{g_{e}} = \frac{4}{9}$
$\because\ \ Weight\ of\ body\ on\ moon$
$\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ = weight\ of\ body\ on\ earth \times g_{m}/g_{e}$
$\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ = 90 \times \frac{4}{9} = 90 \times \frac{4}{9} = 40kg$

Dr. Abubacker
Reviewed by Dr. Abubacker

Physics Educator & NEET/JEE Specialist

Ph.D. in Physics with 19+ years of teaching experience.

Want more practice?
Practice Gravitation MCQs