Question

Jupiter's moon Io has active volcanoes (in fact, it is the most volcanically active body in the solar system) that eject material as high as 500 km (or even higher) above the surface. Io has a mass of 8.93×10²²kg and a radius of 1821 km. For this calculation, ignore any variation in gravity over the 500 km range of the debris. How high would this material go on earth if it were ejected with the same speed as on Io?

Answer 1

`H_2 = 91.55 km`

Step-by-step explanation:

Gravity on the surface of planet is given as

`g = (GM)/(R^2)`

as we know that

`M = 8.93 * 10^(22) kg`

`R = 1821 km`

now gravity on the planet is

`g = ((6.67 * 10^(-11))(8.93 * 10^(22)))/((1821 * 10^3)^)`

so we have

`g = 1.8 m/s^2`

now we know that

`H_(max) = (v^2)/(2g)`

so we will say

`(H_1)/(H_2) = (g_2)/(g_1)`

`(500)/(H_2) = (9.81)/(1.8)`

`H_2 = 91.55 km`