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The percentage decrease in the weight of a rocket when taken to a height of 32 km above the surface of the earth will be (radius of the earth =6400 km)

Asked in JEE Main 26th July 1st Shift 2022 · g from mass, radius and density

• (1) 1%
• (2) 3%
• (3) 4%
• (4) 0.5%

Step-by-step solution

Why the other options are wrong

• (2) No mechanism gives a factor of 3; the binomial index here is -2.
• (3) This is (8h)/R, eight times h/R, and nothing in the working multiplies by eight, so it is a filler distractor. Even doubling the correction a second time, (4h)/R, only gives 2% here.
• (4) Uses h/R alone and drops the factor 2 that comes from the inverse square.

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