Creating a Formula: Force of Gravity at Different Elevations

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around creating a formula to calculate the force of gravity at different elevations above the Earth's surface, utilizing Newton's law of universal gravitation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to formulate the relationship between elevation and gravitational force, expressing uncertainty about the application of Newton's law. Some participants provide insights into the gravitational force's dependence on distance from the Earth's center, while others question the formulation of the equation.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, offering guidance on the relevant gravitational principles and discussing the mathematical representation of the force of gravity. There is a recognition of the complexity involved, with multiple interpretations of the formula being explored.

Contextual Notes

There is an assumption that the Earth is spherical, and participants are considering the implications of this assumption on the gravitational force at varying elevations. The original poster expresses confusion about the next steps in deriving the formula.

ChrisP2006
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I really really need help with his..

How can I make a formula that will give me the force of gravity at different elevations? Like.. x would be elevation and the y would be the force of gravity. I know I have to use Newton's law of Univerisal gravitation and sutff, but I don't know where to go. Thanks..
 
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Give the expression for Newton's law of gravitation. Remember that the gravitational force can be taken to act from the center of mass of the Earth, which can be presumed to be the center of an (assumed) spherical Earth. The total distance between a point mass at an elevation x and the center of the Earth is [tex]x + R[/tex], where R is the radius of the Earth.
 
Hm..

I am still very confused. When using the Universal Law.. I understand that Fg in the law is what I need to find.. and I also understand that if you graph what I'm looking for, you would get an inverse.. But after that.. I'm really lost.


would it be something like: y = G * 1/(r+x)^2 ?

r being the radius of the earth, G being the constant, x being the elevation, and y being the force of gravity?
 
Last edited:
According to classical theory, the force of gravity would be
[tex]\frac{G m_1 m_2} {R^2}[/tex]

R being the distance from the centre of gravity. Since you want to find the force of gravity on a body elevated from the surface of the Earth by [tex]h[/tex] ,assuming the Earth is spherical, the total distance from the centre of gravity is [tex]r + h[/tex], where r is the radius of the earth. I'll leave the rest to you.
 
Last edited:

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