---
title: "An explorer is comparing the physical characteristics of two newly discovered planets. Planet A has mass \\(M_A\\) and radius \\(R_A\\), resulting in a surface gravitational field strength of \\(g_A\\). Planet B has three times the mass of Planet A and twice the radius of Planet A. Which of the following is the correct expression for the gravitational field strength at the surface of Planet B?"
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/114476/"
date_modified: "2026-07-03T04:36:52+00:00"
---

# An explorer is comparing the physical characteristics of two newly discovered planets. Planet A has mass \(M_A\) and radius \(R_A\), resulting in a surface gravitational field strength of \(g_A\). Planet B has three times the mass of Planet A and twice the radius of Planet A. Which of the following is the correct expression for the gravitational field strength at the surface of Planet B?

An explorer is comparing the physical characteristics of two newly discovered planets. Planet A has mass \(M_A\) and radius \(R_A\), resulting in a surface gravitational field strength of \(g_A\). Planet B has three times the mass of Planet A and twice the radius of Planet A. Which of the following is the correct expression for the gravitational field strength at the surface of Planet B?

![Two circular planets side-by-side. Planet A is smaller, labeled with mass M and radius R. Planet B is larger, labeled with mass 3M and radius 2R. Dotted lines indicate the radius from the center to the surface of each planet.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1783053412-RzRoM8.jpg)

- **A.** \(g_B = \dfrac{3}{4} g_A\)
- **B.** \(g_B = \dfrac{3}{2} g_A\)
- **C.** \(g_B = \dfrac{9}{4} g_A\)
- **D.** \(g_B = 6 g_A\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/114476/*