Final answer:
To calculate the gravitational force on a 6.5 x 10^2 kg mass above Earth, use Newton's gravitational law with the mass of Earth and the sum of Earth's radius and the object's height to find the force.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the gravitational force on an object with a mass of 6.5 x 102 kg that is 4.15 x 106 m above the surface of the Earth, we will use Newton's universal law of gravitation.
The formula to use is:
F = GmM / r2
Where:
F is the gravitational force in newtons (N),
G is the gravitational constant (6.674 x 10-11 N·m2/kg2),
m is the mass of the object (6.5 x 102 kg in this case),
M is the mass of the Earth (5.97 x 1024 kg),
r is the distance from the center of the Earth to the object, which is the sum of Earth's radius (6.38 x 106 m) and the object's height above the surface (4.15 x 106 m).
First, we add the Earth's radius and the object's altitude to find r:
r = 6.38 x 106 m + 4.15 x 106 m = 10.53 x 106 m
Next, we substitute all our values into the formula:
F = (6.674 x 10-11 N·m2/kg2 * 6.5 x 102 kg * 5.97 x 1024 kg) / (10.53 x 106 m)2
Calculating this gives us the gravitational force experienced by the object.