Question

Two asteroids are 50,000 m apart. one has a mass of 5 x 10^8 kg. If the force of gravity between them is 8.67 x 10 ^ -2 N, what is the mass of the other asteroid?

Answer 1

6.5 *10^9 kg
is the mass of the second one

Answer 2

Answer:

The mass of the other asteroid is $m_2=6.49\times 10^9\ kg$.

Explanation:

Given that,

Mass of one asteroid, $m=5\times 10^8\ kg$

The separation between two asteroids, r = 50,000 m

The force of gravity between asteroids, $F=8.67\times 10^{-2}\ N$

We need to find the mass of the other asteroid. The gravitational force acting between two masses is given by :

$F=G\dfrac{m_1m_2}{r^2}$

$m_2$ is the mass of other asteroid

$m_2=\dfrac{Fr^2}{Gm_1}$

$m_2=\dfrac{8.67\times 10^{-2}\times (50000)^2}{6.67\times 10^{-11}\times 5\times 10^8}$

$m_2=6.49\times 10^9\ kg$

So, the mass of the other asteroid is $m_2=6.49\times 10^9\ kg$. Hence, this is the required solution.