Question

What is the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted by a 15 kg mass on a 25 kg mass seperated by a distance of 25 cm .what is the acceleration produced on each mass?

Answer 1

You can use newton's gravitational formula:

F=(Gm1m2/d^2)Newtons, where,

F:Force Of Attraction
G:Newton's Gravitational Constant
m1:Mass of body 1(in kg)
m2:Mass of body 2(in kg)
d:Distance between them(in metres)

Now, Substituting the values,

F = (6.673x10^-11x15x25)/(0.25x0.25) N
    =(6.673x10^-11 x  375)/(0.0625)N
    =(2502.375x10^-11)/(0.0625)N
    =40038 x 10^-11 N

From here, we can use Newton's second law F=ma to find acceleration.

Now, force on the two bodies will be the same. the difference will be in the mass.

For 15 kg Mass:a=F/m
                            =40038 x 10^-11/15
                            =2669.2 x 10^-11 m/s^2

Similarly, For 25 kg mass:a=F/m
                                           = 40038 x 10^-11/25
                                           = 1601.52 x 10^-11 m/s^2