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Difficulty: MediumProperties of Matter

An astronaut collects a rock sample on the Moon and measures its physical properties before transporting it back to Earth. If the gravitational pull on the surface of the Moon is approximately one-sixth of Earth's gravity, how do the mass and weight of the rock sample on the Moon compare to its mass and weight on Earth?

  1. A
    The sample has the same weight on the Moon as on Earth, but its mass is one-sixth of its Earth mass.
  2. The sample has the same mass on the Moon as on Earth, but its weight is one-sixth of its Earth weight.Answer
  3. C
    Both the mass and the weight of the sample are one-sixth of their respective values on Earth.
  4. D
    Both the mass and the weight of the sample remain identical in both locations.

Answer

The sample has the same mass on the Moon as on Earth, but its weight is one-sixth of its Earth weight.
Mass is an intrinsic property of matter that quantifies how much substance an object contains, meaning it remains identical regardless of where the object is located in the universe. In contrast, weight is the gravitational force acting on that mass, expressed as W=mgW = mg. Because gravity on the surface of the Moon is approximately one-sixth that of Earth, the rock sample weighs one-sixth as much on the Moon while retaining its full mass.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Define mass in the context of physical properties of matter.
Mass represents the fundamental quantity of matter contained within an object and is invariant regardless of location or external forces.
Mass does not depend on gravitational acceleration.
2
Define weight and determine how local gravity affects it.
Weight is the force exerted on an object by gravity, given by the relationship W=mgW = mg. Since lunar gravity is 16\frac{1}{6} of Earth's gravity, the weight of the rock on the Moon is 16\frac{1}{6} of its weight on Earth.
Weight is a force that varies directly with local gravitational field strength.
3
Synthesize the behavior of both properties.
The rock maintains an identical mass across both environments, while its weight on the Moon is one-sixth of its weight on Earth.
Combining an invariant scalar mass with a variable gravitational force yields the correct comparison.

Key Concept

Mass versus Weight in Gravitational Fields
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Topics

Properties of Matter

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