Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first video
Multiple Choice
The mass of the sun is 1.99×10^30 kg and its distance to the Earth is 1.50×10^11 m. What is the gravitational force of the sun on the Earth, given that the mass of the Earth is 5.97×10^24 kg and the gravitational constant G is 6.674×10^-11 N(m/kg)^2?
A
1.23×10^21 N
B
2.98×10^25 N
C
3.54×10^22 N
D
4.36×10^20 N
Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the formula for gravitational force, which is given by Newton's law of universal gravitation: , where is the gravitational force, is the gravitational constant, and are the masses of the two objects, and is the distance between the centers of the two objects.
Substitute the given values into the formula: .
Calculate the numerator of the fraction, which involves multiplying the gravitational constant , the mass of the Earth , and the mass of the Sun . This step involves handling large numbers and scientific notation.
Calculate the denominator, which is the square of the distance between the Earth and the Sun . This involves squaring the given distance value.
Divide the calculated numerator by the calculated denominator to find the gravitational force . This will give you the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted by the Sun on the Earth.