Question

A ball is falling toward the ground. Which of the following statements are false? (a) The force that the ball exerts on Earth is equal in magnitude to the force that Earth exerts on the ball. (b) The ball undergoes the same acceleration as Earth. (c) The magnitude of the force the Earth exerts on the ball is greater than the mag- nitude of the force the ball exerts on the Earth.

Answer 1

Hi there!

(A) The force that the ball exerts on Earth is equal in magnitude to the force that Earth exerts on the ball.

Gravitational force is an example of an action-reaction pair:

$F_{1,2} = -F_{2,1}$

Gravitational force is given by the equation:

$F_g = \frac{Gm_1m_2}{r^2}$

Plugging in the masses of the Earth and ball, gravitational constant, and radius will result in the SAME GRAVITATIONAL FORCE exerted by both objects on each other.