Question reguarding gravitational pull

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    Gravitational Pull
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The discussion revolves around the gravitational equation F = m1m2G/d² and its application to calculate the gravitational force between a person and the Earth. Initially, the user miscalculated the gravitational force, leading to an absurdly high result, but later realized the mistake was due to not dividing by the person's mass. After correcting the calculation, they obtained a value close to the expected gravitational acceleration of approximately 9.8 m/s². The conversation highlights the importance of correctly applying the formula and understanding that while gravitational acceleration is often approximated as constant, it can vary slightly based on mass and distance. The user expresses satisfaction in seeing the equations work correctly after resolving their confusion.
Chewy0087
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Hey there, firstly i'll just say to start I've not studied general relativity at all, and the answer to my question may lie there, but i'll ask anyway;

Well I was thinking about the gravitational equation;

F (1,2) = m1m2G/d²

However putting the Earth & a person in there gives an absolutely ridiculously high result, and yet we know for a fact that the pull of gravity on us is constant (10 ms ish), by just using really rough internet figures i get

(70 (mass of avg person) * 5.9 * 10^24 (earth mass) * G)/ 6377000^2 (dist from core - surface of the earth)

= 583 ish ms? A ridiculous answer

Any reason for this? I don't think I've gone much wrong, not enough to cause that :o

Thanks in advance for any help

Edit :JEEZ MEGA FAIL ON MY PART - F = MA, LAWLLLLL, diving by 70 gives a very good answer for gravity -

does this then mean that 9.8 isn't constant? And it is indeed dependant on mass, but it makes almost no difference whatsoever - sorry for failthread
 
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A person with a mass of 70 kg has a weight close to 700 Newtons on earth. That's the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on the person. Your method should give you a number close to that expected answer.
 
G m_earth / (r_earth)^2

= (6.67 X 10^-11 N m^2/kg^2) ( 5.98 X 10^24 kg) / (6.37 X 10^6 m)^2

= 9.83 kg m/s^2
 
So...it's not constant? :P Didnt really get the 2nd post
 
Chewy0087 said:
(70 (mass of avg person) * 5.9 * 10^24 (earth mass) * G)/ 6377000^2 (dist from core - surface of the earth)

Where are you incorporating G, which equals 6.67*10^-11?
 
Yeah sorry i forgot to edit the original post - i did get it in the end, just forgot to divide by mass xP, got 9.75 ish which is awesome considering the mega-rounding i did with the wiki figures, it's just really nice to see these awesome equations work using them yourself! Thanks guyz
 
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