Chapter 3.3, Problem 10E

Dropping Rocks on Mars The behavior of objects falling near Earth’s surface depends on the mass of Earth. On Mars, a much smaller planet than Earth, things are different. If Galileo had performed his experiment on Mars, he would have obtained the following table of data.

t $=$ seconds	V $=$ feet per second
0	0
1	12.16
2	24.32
3	36.48
4	48.64
5	60.8

a. Show that these data can be modeled by a linear function, and find a formula for the function.

b. Calculate $V\left(10\right)$ and explain in practical terms what your answer means.

c. Galileo found that the acceleration due to gravity of an object falling near Earth’s surface was 32 feet per second per second. Physicists normally denote this number by the letter g. If Galileo had lived on Mars, what value would he have found for g?