Interplanetary Can Experiment
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Revision as of 18:33, 2 November 2007 by Admin (Talk | contribs) (Interplanetary Can moved to Interplanetary Can Experiment)
The Interplanetary Can experiment is a good opportunity for pupils to compare mass and weight. The basic concept is that there are nine cans from the nine planets and each has the same mass. Pupils will find the weight of each can using newtonmeters and work out which can is from which planet.
Equipment List
- Two sets of nine interplanetary cans
- Newton meters
Creating the nine cans
- We will assume that the mass of the object is 100g and therefore weighs 1N
| Planet | Gravity /g | Mass to use |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.377 | 38g |
| Venus | 0.904 | 90g |
| Earth | 1.000 | 100g |
| Mars | 0.377 | 38g |
| Jupiter | 2.535 | |
| Saturn | 1.060 | |
| Uranus | 0.904 | |
| Neptune | 1.140 | |
| Pluto | 0.062 |
- Each can should be labelled only with the correct astronomical symbol.
NOTE: Pupils will get confused between Mercury and Mars - both have a gravity of 0.377g.
