Solve Gravitation Problem between Earth & Sun

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    Gravitation
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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a gravitation problem involving the Earth and the Sun, specifically finding a point where the net gravitational force on an object is zero. The problem includes specific masses and radii for both celestial bodies.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to understand how to apply the gravitational force equation and whether to use an arbitrary mass for the object. Some participants suggest starting with an arbitrary mass and calculating forces, while others inquire about the method to find the point where the forces balance.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, with some offering guidance on using an arbitrary mass and others requesting calculations to further the discussion. There is no explicit consensus yet, as various interpretations and methods are being explored.

Contextual Notes

One participant notes the importance of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, indicating that this distance can vary and should be specified for accurate calculations.

kim3648
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Gravitation Problem :(

Question:
Find the point between Earth and the sun at which an object can be placed so that the net gravitational force exerted by Earth and the sun on an object is zero.

Earth's mass: 5.98x10^24 kg
Earth's radius: 6.38x10^6 m

Sun's mass: 1.991x10^30 kg
Sun's radius: 6.96x10^8 m


I know I have to use the equation for gravitational force:
F=G(m1m2/r^2)

So at this point I'm lost. Do I make up a mass for the object and figure out the force for Earth and the sun separately? Do I put the values for the sun and Earth into one equation and set the force equal to zero? Any help would be greatly appreciated :D
 
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take any arbitrary mass m and go from there.
 
So I found the sun and the Earth's respective gravitational forces...
How would I go about finding the point where they equal zero?
 
Show us your calculations.
 


this question is complete, for this you should must knew about the distance between sun and earth...
as this distance keeps changes therefore first notify the exact distance for which you want the answer.ok
well according to me ans should be
(y-x)(332943.1438)=x

where y means distance between Earth and sun

and x means distance of object from sun...
therefore after putting value of "y" you will get value of "x" and after it you can easily find distance between object and Earth too
 

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