How Do You Calculate the Mass of Each Tanker Using the Universal Law of Gravity?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the mass of two tankers that attract each other with a specified gravitational force, using the Universal Law of Gravity. The context is centered around gravitational interactions and the application of the gravitational force equation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the implications of having two equal masses and question the necessity of distinguishing between m1 and m2. There is also a suggestion to express the masses in a simplified form due to their equality.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active with participants exploring the setup of the problem and questioning the assumptions regarding the masses. Some guidance has been provided on how to manipulate the gravitational formula, but no consensus or final solution has been reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the constraints of the problem, including the equal mass assumption and the specific values provided for force and distance. There is an ongoing examination of how to appropriately apply the gravitational formula in this context.

Rgonzales
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Homework Statement



Two tankers of equal mass attract each other with a force of 3.5 x 10(to the power of 3)N. If their centres are 85m apart, what is the mass of each tanker?

mass of 2 tankers = ?
F= 3.5 x 10(to the power of 3)N
r= 85m
G = 6.67 x 10(to the power of -11) N.m(squared)/kg(squared)

Homework Equations



F = G x m1 x m2
r(squared)

The Attempt at a Solution



How do i attemp this question? Please help me.
 
Last edited:
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Given this:

Rgonzales said:
Two tankers of equal mass

why do you have two separate masses, m1 and m2?
 
Rgonzales said:
Two tankers of equal mass attract each other ...

What does that tell you about m1 and m2?
 
yeah i just noticed awhile ago...so do i just sub them all the info and isolate the variable of the tank?
 
Last edited:
step 1 since the two mases are the same you can express it as m(^2)
step 2 rearrange the formula to get m(^2) =3.5x10(^3) x 85(^2)/6.67x10(^-11)
step 3 square root the final answer to get the mass of the tanker and you should get 6.16x10(^8)N
 

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