A 1500 kg cow and 400 kg elephant are attracted w/ a force of 2.1x10^-4 N. What is the distance between them?

Question

shamim · Answer

required formula is
F=Gm1m2/d^2

shamim · Answer

d=?

shamim · Answer

F,m1,m2 r given
G is a constant

anonymous · Answer

how to solve this?

matt101 · Answer

For this question, you need to use the equation @shamim mentioned above - the law of universal gravitation:

$$F=\frac{ Gm_{1}m_{2} }{ r^2 }$$
F is the force of gravity between the two masses
G is the gravitational constant, 6.67 x x10^(-11)
m1 is the first mass
m2 is the second mass
r is the distance between the two masses

The question gives us all the information we need for this equation except for distance, so that is what we will solve for:

$$2.1\times10^{-4}=\frac{ (6.67\times10^{-11})(1500)(400) }{ r^2 }$$$$r^2=0.19$$$$r=0.44$$
The distance between them is 0.44 m.

anonymous · Answer

@matt101  thank you!