Two 2.2 kg physical science textbooks on a bookshelf are 0.15 m apart. What is the magnitude of the gravitational attraction between the books?
To calculate the magnitude of the gravitational attraction between the books, we can use Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. The formula is:
F = (G * m1 * m2) / r^2
Where:
F is the gravitational force
G is the universal gravitational constant (approximately 6.67430 × 10^-11 N m^2 / kg^2)
m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects (in this case, the textbooks)
r is the distance between the centers of the two objects (in this case, the distance between the textbooks)
Given:
m1 = m2 = 2.2 kg (mass of each textbook)
r = 0.15 m (distance between the textbooks)
Plugging in the values, we have:
F = (6.67430 × 10^-11 N m^2 / kg^2 * 2.2 kg * 2.2 kg) / (0.15 m)^2
Simplifying:
F = (6.67430 × 10^-11 N m^2 / kg^2 * 4.84 kg^2) / (0.0225 m^2)
F = 1.31 × 10^-9 N
Therefore, the magnitude of the gravitational attraction between the books is approximately 1.31 × 10^-9 Newtons.