Calculating Gravitational Force with Universal Gravitation Formula

AI Thread Summary
To determine the center-to-center distance from Earth where a 0.9 kg mass weighs 0.9 N, the universal gravitation formula g = GM/r^2 is used. The correct approach involves setting the gravitational force equal to the mass (F = m), which simplifies to 1 = GM/r^2. Using known values for G (6.67E-11) and M (5.98E24), the equation can be rearranged to solve for r, incorporating the Earth's radius (6.37E6) plus an additional distance R from the surface. The expected result should be significantly greater than E-6, indicating a much larger distance. Accurate calculations are essential for determining the correct distance.
uno
Messages
38
Reaction score
0
At what center-to-center distance from the Earth would a 0.9 kg mass weigh 0.9 N?



I used equation g = GM/r^2 to get an answer of 8.17 X 10^-6 which is incorrect.

Am I using the correct formula? Thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Well you know at this distance, F = m which implies a = 1.

Therefore use your formula like this: 1 = GM/r^2

G = 6.67E-11
M = 5.98E24
r = 6.37E6 + R
Where R is the distance from the surface of the Earth.

You are going to want your answer to be of an order of much, much greater than E-6
 
I got it. Thanks for your help.
 
I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top