Calculating Distance from Earth's Center for 1/10 Gravitational Acceleration

AI Thread Summary
To find the distance from Earth's center where gravitational acceleration is 1/10 of its surface value, the formula used is r^2 = GM/(g/10). Simplifying this by multiplying both the numerator and denominator by 10 clarifies the calculation. The correct approach involves taking the square root of the final result to obtain the distance in meters, not meters squared. The confusion arose from misapplying the division by 10 in the calculations. Ultimately, understanding the dimensional analysis and the correct application of the formulas resolved the issue.
mosque
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Homework Statement


What is the distance from the Earth's center to a point outside the Earth where the gravitational acceleration due to the Earth is 1/10 its value at the Earth's surface?

Homework Equations


FG= GmM/r^2
g= Gm/r^2

G=6.67x10^-11 (Nm^2)/kg^2
m(earth)=5.97x10^24 kg
g=9.8m/s^2

The Attempt at a Solution


g=1/10g (earth)
g= Gm/r^2

r^2= (Gm/g)1/10
r^2= (Gm/g)10

Answer: r=2.02x10^7 m^2

Using dimensional analysis I somehow got m^2, but I know the units should be in meters, not meters squared.
My other concern is where I change r^2= (Gm/g)1/10 to r^2= (Gm/g)10

I'm not even sure if it was correct to do that. By changing the multiplication from 1/10 to 10 was the only way I got the right answer. I could maybe post an attachment with a picture of my work if it would help you understand what I did.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
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Hi mosque. Welcome to PF!

The acceleration is g/10. So you have ##r^2= \frac{GM}{(g/10)}##

Try simplifying this by multiplying the numerator and denominator by 10.

Note that you had to take a square root to get the answer. What does that do to the units?
 
Wow that's so simple. Now I understand what I was doing wrong. Now that I think about it dividing the gravity by 10 is the same as multiplying it by 10, but instead I worked out Gm/g first and then tried to multiply by 1/10.

Also, once I plugged in the number I did take the square root to get the final answer, but I did the dimensional analysis after so I completely forgot to take the square of the meter.

Thank you so much! :)
 
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