PDA

View Full Version : Newtons law of gravitation


ramin86
Sep5-04, 07:53 PM
I'm stuck on the following question:

Newton's law of universal gravitation is represented by the following equation.
F = GMm/r2

Here F is the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted by one small object on another, M and m are the masses of the objects, and r is a distance. Force has the SI units kg · m/s2. What are the SI units of the proportionality constant G?

Not sure of what to do, please help

needhelpperson
Sep5-04, 08:33 PM
I'm stuck on the following question:

Newton's law of universal gravitation is represented by the following equation.
F = GMm/r2

Here F is the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted by one small object on another, M and m are the masses of the objects, and r is a distance. Force has the SI units kg · m/s2. What are the SI units of the proportionality constant G?

Not sure of what to do, please help

Just solve for G:

kg*m/s^2 = G*kg*kg/m^2

What you can do with numbers can also be done with units...

ramin86
Sep6-04, 12:00 AM
I solved for G and I get (m/s^2 / kg/m^2) = G, however, its not correct.

needhelpperson
Sep6-04, 12:06 AM
I solved for G and I get (m/s^2 / kg/m^2) = G, however, its not correct.
uhh... you didn't even simplify it. so guess what you have to do....