Question

Sally and Sam are in a spaceship that comes to within 17,000 km of the asteroid Ceres. Determine the force Sally experiences, in N, due to the presence of the asteroid. The mass of the asteroid is 8.7 1020 kg and the mass of Sally is 80 kg. For calculation purposes, assume the two objects to be point masses.

Answer 1

Answer:

0.01606 Newtons

Explanation:

r = Distance between the asteroid and Sally = 17000000 m

m₁ = Mass of the asteroid = 8.7× 10²⁰ kg

m₂ = Mass of Sally = 80 kg

G = Gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ m³/kgs²

From Newton's Universal law of gravity

$F=G\frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}\\\Rightarrow F=6.67\times 10^{-11}\times \frac{8.7\times 10^{20}\times 80}{17000000^2}\\\Rightarrow F=0.01606\ N$

The force Sally experiences is 0.01606 Newtons