Force exerted by the Sun on the Earth – Rankers Physics
Topic: Gravitation
Subtopic: Newton's Law of Gravitation

Force exerted by the Sun on the Earth

The earth (mass $= 6 \times 10^{24}\text{ kg}$) revolves around the sun with an angular velocity of $2 \times 10^{-7}\text{ rad/s}$ in a circular orbit of radius $1.5 \times 10^8\text{ km}$. The force exerted by the sun on the earth, in newton, is:

(1995)

$36 \times 10^{21}$
$27 \times 10^{39}$
Zero
$18 \times 10^{25}$

Solution:

The force is the centripetal force $F = mR\omega^2$. Substituting the values: $F = (6 \times 10^{24}) \times (1.5 \times 10^{11}\text{ m}) \times (2 \times 10^{-7})^2 = 9 \times 10^{35} \times 4 \times 10^{-14} = 36 \times 10^{21}\text{ N}$.

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