Question

Two small masses, each with mass of 10 kg, are placed 5.0 m apart. What is the magnitute of the gravitational attraction between them?

Consider: G = 6.67 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2​

Answer 1

Answer:

The gravitational attraction between both masses is $2.668\times 10^{-10}$ newtons.

Explanation:

Since the two masses are small, we can assume that both masses are particles. The gravitational force between both masses ($F$), in newtons, can be calculated by Newton's Law of Gravitation:

$F = \frac{G\cdot m_{1}\cdot m_{2}}{r^{2}}$ (1)

Where:

$G$ - Gravitational constant, in newton-square meters per square kilograms.

$m_{1}$, $m_{2}$ - Masses, in kilograms.

$r$ - Distance between masses, in meters.

If we know that $G = 6.67\times 10^{-11}\,\frac{N\cdot m^{2}}{kg^{2}}$, $m_{1} = m_{2} = 10\,kg$ and $r = 5\,m$, then the gravitational force between both masses is:

$F = 2.668\times 10^{-10}\,N$

The gravitational attraction between both masses is $2.668\times 10^{-10}$ newtons.