Question

The orbital speed of Earth about the Sun is 3.00 × 104 m/s and its distance from the Sun is 1.50 × 1011 m. The mass of Earth is approximately 6.00 × 1024 kg and that of the Sun is 2.00 × 1030 kg. What is the magnitude of the force exerted by the Sun on Earth?

Answer 1

The force exerted by the Sun on Earth is
`3.56x10^(22)N`.

Step-by-step explanation:

The universal law of gravity is defined as:

`F = G(m1m2)/(r^(2))` (1)

Where F is the force, m1 is the mass of the Earth and m2 is the mass of the Sun, G is the gravitational constant and r is the distance between them.

Then, equation 1 can be used to determine the force exerted by the Sun on Earth.

`F = (6.67x10^(-11)kg.m/s^(2).m^(2)/kg^(2))((6.00x10^(24)Kg)(2.00x10^(30)Kg))/((1.5x10^(11)m)^(2))`

`F = 3.56x10^(22)Kg.m/s^(2)`

`F = 3.56x10^(22)N`

Hence, the force exerted by the Sun on Earth is
`3.56x10^(22)N`.