Question

A basketball with a mass of 502 grams rests on the floor near a bowling ball with a mass of 5,203 grams. If a gravitational force of 5.82E-11 Newtons exists between them, how far apart from each other are they?

a 1.99 m
b 4.19 m
c 1.32 m
d 3.50 m
e 1.73 m
f 2.72 m
g 1.44 m
h 2.06 m

Answer 1

The distance between the basketball and bowling ball is approximately 1.98 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the distance between the basketball and bowling ball, we can use Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation:

F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2

Where F is the gravitational force, G is the gravitational constant (6.674 × 10^-11 N·m^2/kg^2), m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects, and r is the distance between them.

Plugging in the given values:

F = 5.82E-11 N

m1 = 0.502 kg (mass of basketball)

m2 = 5.203 kg (mass of bowling ball)

Solving for r:

r = sqrt((G * (m1 * m2)) / F)

Plugging in the values and solving, we get:

r ≈ 1.98 meters