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physica
Nov16-04, 09:56 PM
ok, i have no clue on what to do. Question: If a 13.7kg mass weighs 50.4N on the surface of ganymede. what is the acceleration due to gravity on ganymede? thats all the information that was in the question, im really confused on how to do this question because it has no other imformation............if someone would tell me if theres any formula for this question that would be great :smile:

philosophking
Nov16-04, 10:09 PM
Do you know Newton's laws of gravitation? If you have them, or any, look at those. If you still don't understand, post the laws you know and we will go from there. But look carefully for his laws. I'm sure they're in your textbook somewhere.

physica
Nov16-04, 10:21 PM
ok, the formulas i know are: Fg=mg, Fg=G (m1 m2 / R squared),

Khartoum
Nov16-04, 10:49 PM
alright take your equation Fg=mg...this is all you need to solve for the accel due to gravity on ganymede

physica
Nov16-04, 10:59 PM
ok, one more problem, m=mass Fg=force of gravity g=accel due to gravity, thats what i understand them to mean, and i dont know what to do with the mass's, im very very new at this stuff

Chaotic Boredom
Nov16-04, 11:00 PM
Fg is measured in N, and then you need to manipulate the equation so g is isolated. Does that help?

physica
Nov16-04, 11:05 PM
so, g=Fg/m which would be g=13.7kg/50.4N =0.27m/s^2??

Chaotic Boredom
Nov16-04, 11:07 PM
no, m=13.7 kg, Fg=50.4

physica
Nov16-04, 11:09 PM
ok, so its g=50.4N/13.7kg =3.69m/s^2

Chaotic Boredom
Nov16-04, 11:10 PM
yeah, that's more reasonable than 0.27, Ganymede is a moon, not an asteroid, and yeah, that's right, it's real easy once you get the hang of it.

physica
Nov16-04, 11:12 PM
thank you soooooo much,