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Two asteroids are 75,000 m apart. One has a mass of 8 kg and the other 10 kg. If the force of gravity between them is 1.14 N, what is the mass of the other asteroid?

1) 10-9 N
2) 10-8 N
3) 10-10 N
4) Cannot be determined

User Jithin B
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1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

The mass of the other asteroid is approximately 1.8 × 10^19 kg.

Step-by-step explanation:

The force of gravity between two objects can be calculated using Newton's law of universal gravitation:

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

Where F is the force of gravity, G is the gravitational constant (approximately 6.67 × 10^-11 N*m^2/kg^2), m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance between their centers.

Given that the force of gravity is 1.14 N, one of the asteroids has a mass of 8 kg, and the distance between them is 75,000 m, we can rearrange the formula to solve for the mass of the other asteroid:

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

Plugging in the values:

m2 = (1.14 N * (75,000 m)^2) / (6.67 × 10^-11 N*m^2/kg^2 * 8 kg)

Simplifying the calculation gives us:

m2 ≈ 1.8 × 10^19 kg

Therefore, the mass of the other asteroid is approximately 1.8 × 10^19 kg.

User Alganet
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