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Featured Lesson: Calculate Weight on Other Planets

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Teachers.Net Lesson Bank lesson #4439: Calculate your weight on other planets
Science, grade level: Middle
Posted by T.C.
Lincoln Middle School, New York, USA
Materials Required: Paper, Pencil, Calculator (optional)
Activity Time: 30 minutes
Concepts Taught: gravity on planets, multiplication of decimals

This is a great lesson when you’re teaching space/planets, or for teaching multiplication of decimal numbers.

Students calculate their own weight on other planets using simple formulas.

You could either have kids calculate on paper to reinforce math skills, or allow them to do it with a calculator, to make the lesson move along faster. It works with kilograms or pounds.

The formula is:

Your weight x Decimal percentage of gravity on planet = your weight on the planet

For example, Mercury’s gravity it 38% of Earth’s gravity, so you’d multiply your weight times 0.38 to find your weight on Mercury.

If I weigh 150 pounds on Earth, then it’s calculated like this:

150 lbs x 0.38 = 57 lbs on Mercury

The percentages are as follows:

Mercury – 0.38 or 38%
Venus – 0.9 or 90%
Earth’s moon – 0.16 or 16%
Mars – 0.38 or 38%
Jupiter – 2.36 or 236%
Saturn – 1.08 or 108%
Uranus – .8 or 80%
Neptune – 1.12 or 112%
Pluto – 0.05 or 5%

Students enjoy learning how their weight is changed as they travel from planet to planet.

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