What would the weight and mass of the astronaut (in the following case) be on the Moon?
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Before leaving Earth, the mass of an astronaut is measured to be 60 kg. The astronaut lands on the Moon and measures the acceleration of gravity to be 1.6 m/s2.
Newton’s second law of motion states that the force on an object is equal to the product of the mass and the acceleration. The weight of any body is a force that is exerted on the ground. The normal acceleration due to gravity on heart is 9.8 m/sec squared.
This means that the astronauts weight on earth is 60*9.8=588N. While on the moon the acceleration is 1.6 m/sec squared, so this becomes 60*1.6=96N on the moon. However, the mass of the astronaut does not depend on acceleration. Instead, it is simply something that occupies space and is constant. Therefore, it will be 60 Kg on both the moon and the earth.