Potential Energy of a system of particles

[closer]

A system consists of three particles, each of mass 4.00 g, located at the corners of an equilateral triangle with sides of 36.0 cm.

(a) Calculate the potential energy of the system.

m = .004, d = .2078

UG = Gm1m2/R
U_total = sum of U_i
U_total = Gm1m2/R + Gm1m3/R + Gm2m3/R
U_total = [((6.67300E-11)(.004)(.004))/(.2078)] * 3
U_total = 1.5414E-14

Final answer is incorrect. Any ideas?

 

[Redbelly98]

How did you get d = .2078 ? That looks wrong to me, though I haven't seen your attachment yet.

 

[baba89]

There could be a few reasons why the final answer is incorrect. One possibility is that the distance between the particles, d, is not equal to 0.2078 meters. Another possibility is that the units are not consistent, for example if the mass is given in kilograms instead of grams. It is also important to note that the potential energy of a system is a relative value, so it is important to define a reference point for the potential energy to be measured from. Additionally, the equation used to calculate the potential energy assumes that the particles are point masses, which may not be the case in this scenario. It is important to carefully consider all the variables and assumptions when calculating potential energy of a system of particles.