What is the magnitude of the gravitational force between the earth and the sun, given that the distance between their centres is 1.5 x 10^11 m?

To calculate the magnitude of the gravitational force between the Earth and the Sun, we can use Newton's law of universal gravitation. The formula is:

F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2

where:

• F is the force between the masses,
• G is the gravitational constant,
• m1 and m2 are the two masses (in this case, the mass of the Earth and the mass of the Sun), and
• r is the distance between the centers of the two masses.

The gravitational constant G is approximately 6.674 x 10^-11 N(m/kg)^2.

The mass of the Earth (m1) is approximately 5.972 x 10^24 kg.

The mass of the Sun (m2) is approximately 1.989 x 10^30 kg.

The distance between the Earth and the Sun (r) is given as 1.5 x 10^11 m.

Substituting these values into the formula, we get:

F = (6.674 x 10^-11 N(m/kg)^2) * [(5.972 x 10^24 kg) * (1.989 x 10^30 kg)] / (1.5 x 10^11 m)^2

After calculating the above expression, we find that the gravitational force between the Earth and the Sun is approximately 3.52 x 10^22 N.