Question 12 — The gravitational attraction on the - Questions at the end of the chapter - Chapter 7 - Work, Energy, and Simple Machines (Exploration)

Last updated at July 16, 2026 by

The gravitational attraction on the surface of the Moon (lunar surface) is about 1/6 th of that on the surface of the Earth. An astronaut can throw a ball up to a height of 8 m from the surface of the Earth. How far up will the ball thrown with the same upward velocity travel from the surface of the Moon?

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For the same throwing speed, 1 2 mv 2
= mgh
⇒ h
= v 2 2g , so h ∝ 1 g .

On the Moon g is 1 6 of Earth's, so the height is 6 times larger: h moon
= 6 × 8
= 48 m .

The same throw on the Moon
The astronaut throws with the same velocity
so the kinetic energy 1 2 mv 2 is the same
↓
All of it turns into potential energy
1 2 mv 2
= mgh
⇒ h
= v 2 2g
↓
On the Moon g is one-sixth
so h becomes six times larger
↓
h Moon
= 6 × 8
= 48 m
← Back to: 7.4.2 Potential energy
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