Find the gravitational force of the sun on Mercury

In summary, the problem is to find the gravitational force of the sun on Mercury using the given values of M_sun, M_mercury, R, and G. The equation used is F_G = (G*M_sun*M_mercury)/R^2. The calculated answer is 9.300 x10^21 N, but it may be incorrect due to the distance between the sun and Mercury not being measured from their centers.
  • #1
chris_0101
65
0

Homework Statement


Find the gravitational force of the sun on Mercury
M_sun = 1.98892 x10^30 kg
M_mercury = 3.3022 x10^23 kg
Distance of sun and mercury = R = 6.863 x10^10
G = 6.67 x10^-11


Homework Equations


FG = GMsunMmercury/R^2


The Attempt at a Solution



I simply plugged in the given values (which I found from wolfram alpha) into the formula for F_G and I calculated the answer to be:
9.300 x10^21 N

However, the answer is not correct. If anyone can correct my mistake, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Where did you get the distance from mercury to the sun, and is it a measurement from the center of the sun to the center of mercury? If not, you may have to add in the radii of the two.
 

1. What is the formula for calculating the gravitational force between two objects?

The formula for calculating the gravitational force between two objects is F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where F is the force, G is the universal gravitational constant (6.674 x 10^-11 m^3/kg*s^2), m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects in kilograms, and r is the distance between the two objects in meters.

2. How do you determine the gravitational force of the sun on Mercury?

To determine the gravitational force of the sun on Mercury, we need to know the masses of the two objects (sun and Mercury) and the distance between them. We can then use the formula F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2 to calculate the force.

3. What is the mass of the sun and Mercury?

The mass of the sun is approximately 1.989 x 10^30 kilograms, while the mass of Mercury is approximately 3.285 x 10^23 kilograms.

4. What is the distance between the sun and Mercury?

The average distance between the sun and Mercury is approximately 57.9 million kilometers (36 million miles).

5. What is the gravitational force of the sun on Mercury?

The gravitational force of the sun on Mercury is approximately 1.4 x 10^23 Newtons. This is calculated using the formula F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where G is the universal gravitational constant, m1 is the mass of the sun, m2 is the mass of Mercury, and r is the distance between them.

Similar threads

  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
2
Replies
36
Views
4K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
8
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
2
Replies
41
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
9
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
6
Views
1K
Back
Top