Gravitational Force on 0.64 kg Sphere in Space Shuttle

In summary, the problem involves finding the gravitational force on a 0.64 kg sphere inside the space shuttle, which is orbiting 396.9 km above the surface of the Earth. The equation used is F = (G*M*m)/r^2, with G being the universal gravitational constant, M the mass of the Earth, m the mass of the sphere, and r the distance between the two point masses. However, it is possible that the correct equation to use in this scenario is F = GMm/r^2, with r being the distance from the Earth's center to the center of the object in space. The calculated answer using the given equation is approximately 5.57 N, but further clarification is needed to
  • #1
nweis84
16
0
I have this problem i have been trying to solve and can't seem to get it right. The question states:

The space shuttle is in orbit 396.9 km above the surface of the earth. What is the gravitational force on a 0.64 kg sphere inside the space shuttle?

mass Earth = 5.98x10^24 kg
radius of Earth = 6.37x10^6 m

I've tried using the equation F= (G*M*m)/r^2 and the answer i got was about 5.57 N

for the distance above Earth i converted the units and added them to the Earth's radius so I'm not sure what I could be doing wrong.

is it possible that i am using the wrong equation all together?
 
Last edited:
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  • #2
r is defined as being the distance between the two point masses.

I might be wrong, but for this problem, would you not just use the distance from Earth as r?
 
  • #3
F = GMm/r^2 , G is the universal gravity, M is mass of the object acting the force,
m is the mass of the object that the force is acted upon, r is the distance between the center of the Earth and the center of the object in space.
 

1) What is the formula for calculating gravitational force on a 0.64 kg sphere in a space shuttle?

The formula for calculating gravitational force is F = G(m1m2)/r^2, where G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects, and r is the distance between the objects.

2) How does the mass of the sphere affect the gravitational force?

The mass of an object affects the gravitational force it experiences. The greater the mass, the greater the gravitational force.

3) Why is there a gravitational force on the sphere in a space shuttle?

Even though the space shuttle is in a microgravity environment, there is still a small amount of gravitational force due to the presence of other celestial bodies such as the Earth and the Moon.

4) What is the value of the gravitational constant G?

The value of the gravitational constant G is 6.67 x 10^-11 Nm^2/kg^2. It is a universal constant that determines the strength of the gravitational force between two objects.

5) How does the distance between the sphere and the space shuttle affect the gravitational force?

The gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between two objects. This means that the further the distance, the weaker the gravitational force becomes. So, if the distance between the sphere and the space shuttle increases, the gravitational force decreases.

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