Question

A 28-kg particle exerts a gravitational force of 8.3 x 10^-9 N on a particle of mass m, which is 3.2 m away. What is m?

A) 0.125 kg
B) 0.5 kg
C) 2.0 kg
D) 8.0 kg

Answer 1

The mass of the second particle is approximately 0.5 kg.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the mass of the second particle, we can use Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, which states that the gravitational force between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Using the given information, we can set up the equation as follows:

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

Substituting the known values, we get:

8.3 x 10^-9 = (6.674 × 10^-11 * 28 * m) / (3.2)^2

Simplifying this equation, we find that the mass of the second particle (m) is approximately 0.5 kg.