How Much Would I Weigh on Mars?

Using reference materials available in the classroom or library, look up the surface gravity of different planets and other solar system bodies of interest (such as the moon). You may find the information in your science textbook, an astronomy book, or an almanac. You can also find the information about the planets at Bill Arnett's web site The Nine Planets.

The values usually found in books are the ratio of surface gravity on a planet to that of the earth. This makes it easy to compute your weight. For example, if the surface gravity of planet X is 2.0 times that of the earth and you weigh 110 pounds on earth, then you would weigh 2*110 or 220 pounds on planet X.

After you find the relative surface gravity data, type it into a table in a spreadsheet. Don't forget to label your data. Design the spreadsheet so that you can enter your weight or that of a friend into one cell and let the spreadsheet compute how much you or your friend would weigh on the other planets.

Solution

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