- #1
thesandalman
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Homework Statement
ics
Consider identical twins named Bert and Ernie who are visiting a star named Alpha Sesame. Bert is at a distance r from the star while Ernie is located a distance 3r. Both Bert and Ernie are stationary (they are standing on platforms built by an alien super race) and are not orbiting the star. Big Bird, who has the same mass as Bert and Ernie despite his larger volume, flies by Bert in a spaceship which is in a circular orbit or radius r around Alpha Sesame.
All Answers are true or false:
-If Bert and Ernie would step on bathroom scales, Bert's weight would be 9 times larger than Ernie's.
-If Bert were to step off the platform and fall toward the star, he would experience an identical acceleration to that of Big Bird.
-If Big Bird were to step on a bathroom scale in the spaceship, the scale would register zero.
-Big Bird's acceleration is zero.
-The gravitational force that Bert feels is 3 times larger than the gravitational force Ernie feels.
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
I know the third answer to be true. I believe the fourth question is false due to gravity. Not so sure about the other ones. That is where I need the help!