Proponents of astrology claim that the positions of the planets at the time of a baby's birth will affect the life of that person in important ways. Some assert that this effect is due to gravity. Examine this claim with Newton's law of gravity. Calculate the maximum force exerted on the baby by the planet Mars and compare that with the force of gravity exerted by the mass of the doctor's head as she delivers the baby. Assume Mars is at its closest approach to Earth at the time. You will need to estimate the mass of a newborn, as well as the mass and distance between the doctor's head and the baby.
Which of the following are critical to solving this problem?
--Newton's law of gravitation
-Newton's 2nd Law
-constant acceleration
-equations of motion
-weight force
Mass of Mars = 6.42*10^23 kg
orbit radius of Mars = 2.28*10^11 meters
orbit radius of earth = 1.49*10^11 meters
difference in orbit radii = .79*10^11 meters
G = 6.67*10^-11
You guess Mbaby and Mdoctor head
F1= G Mmars Mbaby/(.79*10^11)^2
= G (6.42*10^23)(Mbaby)/(.624*10^22)
assuming doctor .3 meter from Baby
F2 = G Mdoctorhead Mbaby/(.3 )^2
Law of gravitation of course. That is what we are using.
The critical concepts required to solve this problem include:
- Newton's law of gravitation: This law describes the gravitational force between two objects and is essential in calculating the force exerted by Mars on the baby and the force of gravity between the doctor's head and the baby.
- Newton's 2nd Law: This law relates the force acting on an object to its mass and acceleration. It will be used to calculate the maximum force exerted on the baby by Mars and the force of gravity exerted by the doctor's head.
- Weight force: This represents the force of gravity acting on an object due to its mass. We will need to consider the weight force of the baby and the doctor's head in our calculations.
- Equations of motion: These equations can be employed to determine the acceleration and forces involved in the scenario. They will be used along with Newton's laws to solve the problem.
Constant acceleration is not directly required for this problem, as we are primarily dealing with gravitational forces and not acceleration in a specific direction. However, we may use acceleration formulas in conjunction with the given information to find other necessary quantities.