Calculate Your Weight on Another Planet | The Schools' Observatory

Did you know that what you weigh depends on the strength of gravity? And did you know that the strength on gravity on other planets is not the same as on Earth?

In this activity you use real data to calculate your weight on another world!

By the end of this activity you will:

Know how to calculate weight from mass and surface gravity
Have read data from a table and used it in a calculation
Have compared what you would weigh on different planets

To complete this activity you will need:

To watch the video on this page
To complete the worksheet (below)
The Planet Data Sheet (below)
Some paper and a pen
A calculator (optional)
Weighing scales (optional)

Files or Documents

Calculate your Weight Worksheet

Planets datasheet

Approx Duration

15 - 30 mins

Have a go

Use the video on this page and the Planet Data Sheet below to complete the worksheet.

Remember, weight is the product of the mass and the surface gravity on the planet.

Weight = Mass x Surface Gravity

You can then check your answers using the weight calculator.

Planet Data Sheet

Facts and Figures	Mercury	Venus	Earth	Mars	Jupiter	Saturn	Uranus	Neptune
Radius (km)	2,440	6,052	6,378	3,397	71,492	60,268	25,559	24,746
Mass (Earth masses)	0.055	0.82	1.0	0.11	318	95.2	14.5	17.1
Surface Gravity (g)	0.38	0.91	1.0	0.38	2.34	0.93	0.92	1.12
Number of moons	0	0	1	2	90+	140+	27	14

Note: 1 Earth mass = 5,980,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg and 1 g = 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s²)

If you liked this, why not try

Checking your answers using our calculator

Finding out your 'Space Age'

Playing with gravity on other worlds

Have a go

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