What is the mass of mercury in metric tons?

Answer 1

-- If you're asking about Mercury the element, then it depends on how much

of it there is, and where it's located. On or near the surface of the Earth, each

kilogram of mercury the element weighs about 9.8 newtons (2.205 pounds).

-- If you're asking about Mercury the planet, then its mass is 3.3022 x 1023 kilograms.

That's about 0.055 as much as Earth's mass.

To answer how much it weighs is a real problem. The weight of anything depends on

what other mass is in the neighborhood, because weight is just the force of gravity

attracting two masses toward each other. One mass all by itself, or far away from

any other mass, weighs nothing.

Here's an idea: The force of gravity between Mercury and the Sun is what keeps

the planet in orbit around the Sun, so how about if I calculate that force for you ?

Mercury's mass . . . 3.3022 x 1023 kilograms

Sun's mass . . . 1.9891 x 1030 kilograms

Distance between Mercury and the Sun (average) . . . 57.9 million kilometers

F = G MmercMsun/R2

G = Universal gravitational constant = 6.67 x 10-11 newton-meter2/kilogram2

Force = (6.67 x 10-11) x (3.3022 x 1023) x (1.9891 x 1030) / (57.9 x 109) 2

Force = 1.307 x 1022 Newtons

That's the same force as about 2.938 x 1021 pounds, or 1.469 x 1018 tons,

dragging Mercury the planet toward the Sun.

Of course, it's also attracted toward every other speck of mass in the universe at

the same time, including each of the other planets in the solar system. I'll do just

one more for you, and calculate the gravitational force that pulls Mercury and the

Earth together.

Earth's mass . . . 5.9722 x 1024 kilograms

Closest together that Mercury and Earth can ever be . . . 77.3 million kilometers

Maximum possible gravitational force between Earth and Mercury = 2.201 x 1016 Newtons.

(4.949 x 1015 pounds, 2.474 x 1012 tons)

That's about 0.0000017 as much as the force between Mercury and the Sun !

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Now that I read back over this response, I'm thinking that maybe the most important

lesson in the whole thing is how valuable scientific notation is when you're throwing

big numbers around.

Answer 2

The mass of the planet Mercury is 3.3022×1023 kg.

A Tonne is a megagram, or one thousand kg, so that's 3.3022 x 1020 Tonnes.

Mercury has the same mass as 0.055 Earths.