Tom has a mass of 69.4 kg and Sally has a
mass of 42.3 kg. Tom and Sally are standing
27.5 m apart on a massless dance floor. Sally
looks up and she sees Tom. She feels an
attraction.
If the attraction is gravitation, find its magnitude. Assume both can be replaced by point
masses and that the gravitational constant is
6.67259 × 10−11 N · m2/kg2
Answer in units of N.
To find the magnitude of the gravitational attraction between Tom and Sally, we can use the formula:
F = (G * m1 * m2) / r^2
Where:
F is the gravitational attraction force
G is the gravitational constant (6.67259 × 10^−11 N · m^2/kg^2)
m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects (Tom and Sally in this case)
r is the distance between the centers of the two objects (27.5 m)
Plugging in the values:
F = (6.67259 × 10^−11 N · m^2/kg^2) * (69.4 kg) * (42.3 kg) / (27.5 m^2)
Calculating this expression gives the magnitude of the gravitational attraction between Tom and Sally in units of Newtons (N).