Question

The gravitational force of attraction between two students sitting at their desks in physics class is 3.9 × 10−8 N. If one student has a mass of 56.5 kg and the other has a mass of 61.5 kg, how far apart are the students sitting? The universal gravitational constant is 6.673 × 10−11 N · m2 /kg2 . Answer in units of m.

Answer 1

Distance between the students is 2.4377 m

Step-by-step explanation:

We have given that force between the students
`F=3.9* 10^(-8)N`

Mass of first student
`m_1=56.5kg`

Mass of second student
`m_2=61.5kg`

Gravitational constant
`G=6.67* 10^(-11)Nm^2/kg^2`

From gravitational law we know that force between two objects is given by

`F=(Gm_1m_2)/(R^2)`

So
`3.9* 10^(-8)=(6.67* 10^(-11)* 56.5* 61.5)/(R^2)`

`R=2.4377m`

So distance between the students is 2.4377 m