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I'm going to give you more information than you're expecting, because the
answer to your question beautifully illustrates some subtle things about gravity.
You asked: Why is gravity about the same on Mars and Mercury ?
Is it really about the same ? Yes it is.
3.722 m/s2 on Mars, 3.697 m/s2 on Mercury ... less than 1% difference.
Why ?
What is it that determines the strength of gravity on a planet ?
Two things: > The mass of the planet, and > its radius ... the distance
of the surface from the center.
How do these numbers compare for Mars and Mercury ?
Mass:
Mars has 95% more than Mercury . . . not nearly the same !
Radius:
Mars' is 39% bigger than Mercury's . . . not nearly the same !
So how can they wind up with almost exactly the same gravity ?
Answer:
The gravity on the surface of the planet depends on both of these physical
characteristics. It's proportional to the mass of the planet AND inversely
proportional to the square of the planet's radius. So let's look at the
combination of mass and 1/radius-squared for these two planets:
(Mass)/(radius)2 :
Mars: (0.107 x Earth's)/(0.532 x Earth's)2 = 0.3781
Mercury: (0.055 x Earth's)/(0.383 x Earth's)2 = 0.3749
That number for Mars is only 0.85% more than Mercury's number.
THAT's how they wind up with almost the same surface gravity.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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Is the gravity on mars the same as on earth?
No. Surface gravity on Mars is 37.6% (about 3/8) what it is on Earth.
Why is the specific gravity of mercury on the moon not the same as its specific gravity on earth?
The gravity at the surface of Mercury is less than the gravity at the surface of the Earth because Mercury has less mass than Earth does.
WHEN IS SUN mars and mercury closest TO Aquarius?
The next time The Sun, Mercury and Mars will be in Aquarius at the same time is February 14, 2024.
Is Venus's bigger than Mercury?
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar system.
Is mars biggersmalleror the same size as earht?
Mars is smaller than the Earth, with about 38% of Earth's gravity and days which last about 24hrs 40mins.
How is gravity about the same on Mars and Mercury?
This does seem odd. Mars, with a mass that is about twice the mass of Mercury, has about the same surface gravity. Mars' mass is about .107 the mass of earth, and the mass of Mercury is about .055 the mass of earth. The surface gravity on Mars is about .38 times the surface gravity of earth, and the surface gravity of Mercury is about .38 times the surface gravity of earth as well. The difference is that the mean density of Mercury is about 5.43 grams per cubic centimeter, and the mean density of Mars is about 3.93 grams per cubic centimeter. Mercury is quite a bit more dense, so if you stand on Mercury you are much closer to the center of gravity of the planet. Mercury has a tiny slightly bit more gravity than mercury though.
Is mars the smallest planet in out solar system?
No. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, with the lowest mass. Mars has a diameter about 1.4 times that of the denser Mercury, giving them roughly the same surface gravity.
Is gravity on mars the same as on earth?
No. Gravity on Mars is about 38% of what it is on Earth.
How does a planet's size affect its gravity?
The distance between a planet and an object affects the gravitational force between them. That means the size of a planet affects the value of the "surface gravity" for that planet. The greater thedistance from the surface to the center of the planet, the smaller the gravity at the surface (for the same planet mass). An example is the fact that Mars and Mercury have almost exactly the same surface gravity. Mars has more mass than Mercury, but this is balancedby the fact that Mercury hasthe smaller radius.
Is the gravity on mars the same as on earth?
No. Surface gravity on Mars is 37.6% (about 3/8) what it is on Earth.
Why is the specific gravity of mercury on the moon not the same as its specific gravity on earth?
The gravity at the surface of Mercury is less than the gravity at the surface of the Earth because Mercury has less mass than Earth does.
Does Gravity act on the mars rover?
Yes, gravity does act on the Mars Rovers. On Mars, the gravity on the surface is 39% as strong as it is on Earth. This is also about the same amount on Mercury. A man weighing 200 pounds on Earth (or 440 kg) would weigh 78 pounds on Mars (171.6 kg). The six wheels the rovers have push the rovers around, they just don't have to work as hard to overcome the weak Martian gravity.
Does mars have smaller gravity than earth greater gravity than earth or the same gravity as earth?
Mars has approximately one third the surface gravity of the earth
WHEN IS SUN mars and mercury closest TO Aquarius?
The next time The Sun, Mercury and Mars will be in Aquarius at the same time is February 14, 2024.
Mars and Pluto have just about the same mass which planet has greater gravity and why?
Actually, the idea that Pluto had about the same mass as Mars is outdated. It is now known that Pluto has less than 2% the mass of Mars, and therefore has less gravity.
When mercury is the smallest planet why does it have gravity that matches mars which is larger?
Gravity depends on two factors: the mass of an object and the distance from the center of gravity. Mass is a measure of how much matter is in an object. In a uniform gravitational field mass is directly proportional to weight. Mercury has less mass than Mars does but it is also denser , meaning more mass is compacted into a given amount of space, so an object on the surface is closer to the center of mass. In more accurate terms, gravity is directly proportional to the mass of the object exerting it. If you double the mass you double the strength of gravity. By contrast, the strength of gravity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. If you double your distance you will experience one quarter the gravity. Mars is 1.388 times the diameter and 1.94391 times the radius of Mercury. If you do the math with these numbers you will find that the resulting surface gravity is nearly the same between the two.
If you weight 300 Newtons on earth then what is your mass and weight in mars?
You need to:1) Divide the weight by Earth's gravity, to get the mass. 2) Remember that the mass will be the same on Mars. 3) Multiply the mass by the gravity of Mars, to get the weight on Mars.
