Weight of a man orbiting this given planet

  • #1
1
0

Homework Statement



The mass of one planet in a distant galaxy is 0.58 that of the Earth's mass , and its radius is 0.57 that of the Earth's radius.

What is Fnew, the factor by which the man's weight is reduced if he were orbiting the planet at a distance of 3.5 Earth radii above the planet's surface? i.e., Weight(3.5 Earth radii above planet's surface) = Weight(at planet's surface)/Fnew

I know that the man is 82kg and weighs 1436.022N on the surface of the planet.

Homework Equations



F= (M x m)/R^2


The Attempt at a Solution



I've tried doing .58/(.57+3.5)^2 times 82 and a few other things but I'm just not really sure how to solve this problem and it's been frustrating me for a few hours.

Thanks for the help!
 

Answers and Replies

  • #2
I think you are missing a G in that equation up there?

[tex]F_{g} = \frac{GMm}{r^{2}}[/tex]

What is the mass of the planet, and it's radius? You should be able to solve for his weight floating above the planet with this information.
 
Last edited:

Suggested for: Weight of a man orbiting this given planet

Back
Top