The sun is more massive than the moon, but the sun is farther from the earth. Which one exerts a greater gravitational force on a person standing on the earth? Give your answer by determining the ratio Fsun/Fmoon of the magnitudes of the gravitational forces. Use the data on the inside of the front cover.

To determine the ratio of the magnitudes of the gravitational forces exerted by the sun and the moon on a person standing on Earth, we can use the formula for gravitational force:

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

where F is the gravitational force, G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance between them.

Given that the sun is more massive than the moon but is farther from Earth, we need to compare the magnitudes of the gravitational forces they exert on a person on Earth.

Let's denote the mass of the sun as M_s, the mass of the moon as M_m, and the distances from Earth as R_s and R_m respectively.

Now, the ratio of the magnitudes of the gravitational forces F_sun/F_moon can be obtained as follows:

F_sun/F_moon = (G * (M_s * m)) / (G * (M_m * m))

Notice that the mass of the person (m) appears on both sides of the ratio but cancels out. Thus, we are left with the ratio of the sun and moon masses:

F_sun/F_moon = M_s / M_m

Given the data is on the inside of the front cover, you would need to refer to it to find the values for M_s (mass of the sun) and M_m (mass of the moon). Once you have those values, you can divide the mass of the sun by the mass of the moon to obtain the ratio F_sun/F_moon.