Question

Tidal influence is proportional to the mass of a disturbing body and is inversely proportional to the cube of its distance. Some astrologers claim that your destiny is determined by the influence of the planets that are above the horizon at the moment of your birth.

Compute the ratio of the tidal influence of the doctor delivering a baby (mass = 85.00 kg, distance = 1 m) to the tidal influence of Mercury (mass = 3.30×1023 kg, distance = 9.2×1010 m). For this calculation, we are assuming that the planet is at its closest point to Earth.

Answer 1

The ratio of the tidal influence of the doctor to the tidal influence of Mercury is 2.0 × 10¹¹.

Step-by-step explanation:

Tidal influence (T) is proportional to the mass of a disturbing body (m) and is inversely proportional to the cube of its distance (d).

`T=k.(m)/(d^(3) )`

The tidal influence of the doctor (Td) is:

`Td=k.(m)/(d^(3) )= k. (85.00kg)/((1m)^(3) ) =k.85kg/m^(3)`

The tidal influence of mercury (Tm) is:

`Tm=k.(m)/(d^(3) )= k. (3.30 * 10^(23)  kg)/((9.2 * 10^(10))^(3) ) =k.4.2 * 10^(-10)kg/m^(3)`

The ratio Td/tm is:

`(Td)/(Tm) =(k.85kg/m^(3))/(k.4.2 * 10^(-10)kg/m^(3)) =2.0 * 10^(11)`