An astronaut has landed on an asteroid and conducts an experiment to determine the acceleration of gravity on that asteroid. She uses a pendulum that has a period of oscillation of 2.00 s on Earth and finds that on the asteroid the period is 11.3 s. What is the acceleration of gravity on that asteroid? A) 0.307 m/s² B) 1.66 m/s² C) 1.74 m/s² D) 5.51 m/s² E) 0.0544 m/s²

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The period of a pendulum is proportional to the square root of the inverse of the gravitational acceleration. Using the formula T = 2π√(L/g), and comparing the periods on Earth and the asteroid, the ratio of the periods squared gives the ratio of the gravitational accelerations. Solving for the asteroid's gravity gives approximately 0.307 m/s².

An Astronaut Has Landed on an Asteroid and Conducts an Experiment