Question

If your weight on Earth is 1100 N what would it be on the sun?

Answer 1

The weight of a person on earth is the gravitational force applied by the earth on the person at the surface of the Earth. The force applied by a spherical mass (M) on a point mass (m) is given by

GMm F =

Where r is the distance between the point mass and the centre of mass of the sphere.

For a person on Earth M=M_{​​​​​​e} and r=R_{​​​​​​e}

GMem W =- R2

where M_{​​​​​​e} is the mass of the earth and R_{​​​​​​e} is the radius of the earth.

Similarly on the Sun, the weight of the person is the force applied by the sun on the person at the surface of the sun.

For sun M=M_{​​​​​​s} and r=R_{​​​​​​s}

GM3m W, = ) R?

Dividing the last equations we get

W, GMm W. = R? R GM m

W - UW

Using standard values of the mass and radius of Earth and sun.

1.99 x 1030 kg (6.38 x 106 m) W, = (6.96 x 108 m)2 * 5.97 x 1024 kg) -> (1100 N)

W, = 3.1 x 104 N