Chapter 9, Problem 1QFR

How do Mercury, Venus, and Mars each compare with Earth in mass and radius?

To determine

The mass and radius of Mercury, Venus and Mars compared with Earth.

Answer to Problem 1QFR

The mass of Mercury is $\frac{1}{{28}^{\text{th}}}$ of Earth, Venus is $0.815$ times of Earth and Mars is $\frac{1}{{10}^{th}}$ of Earth. And the radius of Mercury is $\frac{1}{3^{rd}}$ of Earth, Venus is $0.9499$ times of Earth and Mars is half of Earth.

Explanation of Solution

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. The mass of Mercury is about $\frac{1}{{28}^{\text{th}}}$ of the mass of Earth and its radius is $\frac{1}{3^{rd}}$ of the radius of Earth.

Venus is the neighbor planet of our Earth. The mass of Venus is slightly lesser than Earth, $0.815$ less than that of Earth, and the radius of the Venus is also slightly lesser than Earth, less than that of Earth.

Mars is a Earth-like planet compared to Mercury and Venus. The mass of Mars is $\frac{1}{{10}^{th}}$ of the mass of Earth and its radius is half of the radius of the Earth.

Conclusion:

The mass of Mercury is $\frac{1}{{28}^{\text{th}}}$ of Earth, Venus is $0.815$ times of Earth and Mars is $\frac{1}{{10}^{th}}$ of Earth. And the radius of Mercury is $\frac{1}{3^{rd}}$ of Earth, Venus is $0.9499$ times of Earth and Mars is half of Earth.