Did I Calculate the Centripetal Force of the Earth Correctly?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the centripetal force exerted on the Earth by the Sun, using given values for the period of revolution, average distance, and Earth's mass. The original poster attempts to apply the relevant equations but encounters an issue with their final result.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster describes their method for calculating centripetal force, including converting time to seconds and calculating velocity. A participant questions whether the original poster converted kilometers to meters in their calculations, which may impact the result.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring potential errors in the original poster's calculations. Guidance has been offered regarding unit conversion, which may lead to a reevaluation of the results.

Contextual Notes

There is an implicit assumption regarding the need for unit consistency in the calculations, particularly the conversion of distance from kilometers to meters, which has not been addressed by the original poster.

BoldKnight399
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Calculate the centripetal force exerted on the Earth by the Sun. Assume that the period of one revolution is 365.25 days. The average distance is 1.5X10^8 km and the Earth's mass is 6X10^24 kg.

ok so first I turned the time into seconds. Then I tried to find the velocity of the Earth using the equation:
Vt=2piR/T
so that became:
Vt=2pi(1.5X10^8km)/(31557600sec)
so the velocity was 29.86531 m/s
I then plugged it into the equation
Fcep=mVt^2/r
so F=(6X10^24)(29.86531)^2/(1.5X10^8)
F=3.5677X10^19

apparently that was the wrong answer. I was hoping that someone could see what I did wrong and help me out.
 
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BoldKnight399 said:
Calculate the centripetal force exerted on the Earth by the Sun. Assume that the period of one revolution is 365.25 days. The average distance is 1.5X10^8 km and the Earth's mass is 6X10^24 kg.

ok so first I turned the time into seconds. Then I tried to find the velocity of the Earth using the equation:
Vt=2piR/T
so that became:
Vt=2pi(1.5X10^8km)/(31557600sec)

In the next line did you convert km to m?
 
no I did not. Lemme see if that works now
 
Thank you so much!
 

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