Purchase Solution

Mass of Planets in Solar System, Gravitational Acceleration and Pendulum Period

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

Using the internet, I need to find the mass and radius of three of the nine planets in our solar system. Be sure that the masses are expressed in kilograms and the radii are expressed in meters.

Using the data, calculate the gravitational acceleration on each of the three planets you selected. Note: With the masses measured in kilograms and the radii in meters, the units of gravitational acceleration would turn out to be meters per squared seconds.

Use the gravitational accelerations that were calculated in Step 2 to find the period of a 2 meter long simple pendulum on each of the nine planets. Note: The length of a simple pendulum is normally expressed in meters, so it is sufficient to replace L with the number 2 in the period expression.

Background Information:
A simple pendulum, such as a rock hanging from a piece of string or the inside of a grandfather clock, consists of a mass (the rock) and a support (the piece of string).

When the mass is moved a small distance away from its equilibrium point (the bottom of the arc), the mass will swing back and forth in a constant amount of time called the period. One period is the amount of time required for the mass to swing all the way to the other side and then swing back to its staring point.

Note: For the purpose of this, we are making the simplifying assumption that our pendulum is swinging in a perfect vacuum, (i.e., there is no air resistance that will stop the pendulum).

The period of a simple pendulum is normally expressed using the variable T and is measured in seconds. It can be calculated using the length of the pendulum, L, and the acceleration due to gravity, g, using this expression:

The gravity that holds us on the earth and makes objects fall is familiar to all of us. What may not be quite as well-known, however, is that the acceleration due to gravity is actually determined by the mass (amount of material) and the radius of our planet (Note: The radius of a planet is the distance from the center of the planet to its surface.) If we represent the mass with the variable M (measured in kilograms) and the radius by the variable r (measured in meters), the acceleration due to gravity for a planet can be found from the expression:

Where G is a constant called the Universal Gravitational Constant. This constant has the value as shown here:

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

The mass of three planets is found, their gravitational acceleration is measured and the period of a pendulum on those planets is found.

Solution Preview

Step 1:

From: http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/special/planets.htm

Mercury: M = 3.3e23 kg, r=4.88e6 / 2 = 2.44e6 m
Venus: M = 4.87e24 kg, r = 1.21e7 / 2 = 6.05e6 m
Mars: M = ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Variables in Science Experiments

How well do you understand variables? Test your knowledge of independent (manipulated), dependent (responding), and controlled variables with this 10 question quiz.

Introduction to Nanotechnology/Nanomaterials

This quiz is for any area of science. Test yourself to see what knowledge of nanotechnology you have. This content will also make you familiar with basic concepts of nanotechnology.

Intro to the Physics Waves

Some short-answer questions involving the basic vocabulary of string, sound, and water waves.

The Moon

Test your knowledge of moon phases and movement.

Basic Physics

This quiz will test your knowledge about basic Physics.