Answer 1:
That's a good question. The gravitational force
between any two objects can be described by the
following equation:
F =
(G*M1*M2)/r2,
where G is the gravitational constant
(approximately 6.67 x 10-11
Nm2kg-2 ),
M1 is
the mass of the first object, M2
is the
mass of the second object, and r is the
distance between the objects.
Jupiter has a mass of about 1.9 x
1027kg. The sun's mass is about 2.0 x
1030kg, and the distance between them
on average is roughly 7.8 x 1011m.
Plugging all of these values into our equation
gives:
F = (6.67 * 10-11
Nm2 kg-2)*(1.9 *
1027 kg)*(2.0 * 1030
kg)/(7.8 * 1011 m)2 ~
4.166009204 × 1023 N
Since multiplication is commutative (order doesn't
matter), it doesn't matter which object you call
"object 1" and which one you call "object 2".
Thus, the force of gravity exerted by the sun
on Jupiter is the same as the force of gravity
exerted by Jupiter on the sun
I hope that helps!
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