Specific Forces - AP Physics 1

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Question

Two planets are apart. If the first planet has a mass of and the second has a mass of , what is the acceleration on the smaller planet?

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Answer

Remember that Newton's second law states that . The force acting upon the planet in question will be the force due to gravity. Once we find that, we can find the acceleration.

To solve for the force, use Newton's law of universal gravitation:

We are given the values for the mass of each planet, as well as the distance (radius) between them. Using these values and the gravitational constant, we can solve for the force of gravity.

Now that we know the force of gravity, we can use Newton's second law and the mass of the smaller planet to solve for the acceleration of gravity.

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