calculate the force of Earth's gravity on a spacecraft 12,800 km (2 Earth radii) above Earth's surface if its mass is 1350 kg.

i know the universal gravitation formula is Fg = G [(m1 m2)/ r^2] but im not getting anywhere near the multiply choice answers of: 14,470, 4410 N, 2205 N, or 1470 N

r is the distance to the centre of the body. What did you use for r?

i tried squaring earth's radii and i tried multiplying it by 2

Ouch!

"(2 Earth radii) above Earth's surface" means 3 earth radii from the centre, right?

To calculate the force of Earth's gravity on the spacecraft, we can use the universal gravitation formula you mentioned: Fg = G [(m1 m2) / r^2].

Where:
Fg is the force of gravity
G is the gravitational constant (6.674 × 10^-11 N m^2 / kg^2)
m1 is the mass of Earth
m2 is the mass of the spacecraft
r is the distance between the center of Earth and the spacecraft

In this case, the mass of the spacecraft is given as 1350 kg, and the distance from the Earth's surface to the spacecraft is 12,800 km, which is equivalent to 2 Earth radii (assuming the Earth's radius is about 6,400 km).

First, we need to convert the radius of the spacecraft's distance from kilometers to meters:
r = 12,800 km = 12,800,000 meters

Next, we need to find the mass of Earth. The mass of Earth is approximately 5.972 × 10^24 kg.

Now we can substitute the values into the formula:

Fg = (6.674 × 10^-11 N m^2 / kg^2) * [(5.972 × 10^24 kg) * (1350 kg) / (12,800,000 meters)^2]

Calculating this equation should give us the force of Earth's gravity on the spacecraft in newtons (N). This will help us determine which of the given options is the correct answer.

I have no clue