Question

Sally and Sam are in a spaceship that comes to within 18,000 km of the asteroid Ceres. Determine the force Sally experiences due to the presence of the asteroid. The mass of the asteroid is 8.7 X 10^20 kg and the mass of Sally is 77 kg. For calculation purposes assume the two objects to be point masses.

Answer 1

F = 0.014 N

Step-by-step explanation:

• Assuming that both masses are point masses, the force that Sally experiences due to the mass of Ceres, is given by the Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, as follows:

`F_(SC) =G *(m_(S)*m_(C) )/(r_(SC) ^(2) ) (1)`

where G= Universal Constant of Gravitation = 6.67*10⁻¹¹ N*m2/kg2

mS = mass of Sally = 77 kg.

mC = mass of Ceres = 8.7*10²⁰ kg

rSC = distance between Sally and Ceres = 18,000 km

• Replacing by the values, we get:

`F_(SC) =6.67e-11 N*m2/kg2 *(77kg*8.7e20kg)/((18,000km)^(2)) = 0.014 N (2)`