You will need the data for the mass and radius of the Earth and the Moon from Table 17.1 to answer this question.

Gravitational constant G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N m² kg⁻².
a. Determine the gravitational potential at the surface of the Earth.
b. Determine the gravitational potential at the surface of the Moon.
c. Which has the shallower ‘potential well’, the Earth or the Moon? Draw a diagram similar to Figure 17.8 to compare the ‘potential wells’ of the Earth and the Moon.

d. Use your diagram to explain why a large rocket is needed to lift a spacecraft from the surface of the Earth but a much smaller rocket can be used to launch from the Moon’s surface.

Transcribed Image Text:

Body Mass / kg Radius / km Distance from Earth / km Earth 6.0 x 1024 6 400 Мoon 7.4 x 1022 1 740 3.8 x 105 Sun 2.0 x 1030 700 000 1.5 x 108