How Do You Calculate Net Gravitational Force on Aligned Particles?

[ludakrishna]

Three particles far away from any other objects are located on a straight line. The masses of these particles are ma = 363kb, mb= 517 kg, and mc = 154kg. Find the magnitude and direction of the net graviational force actiong on particle a, particle b, and particle c. The distance between a and b is .500m from center point to center point. And the distance between b and c is .250m.



F = G * M * m/r^2



do i just solve it using the equation above. F = G * 363 * 517 / .250^2. If so, how do i figure out the direction if it is on a line.

 

[denverdoc]

Be thankful its on a line, what is being asked for is the direction of the force. Hint: the particles on the end will be "pulled" toward the others, but the middle particle has a choice.
In each case you have to sum the forces exerted by the other two particles on the third.

 

[m2003]

Yes, you can use the equation F = G * M * m/r^2 to solve this problem. However, in order to find the magnitude and direction of the net gravitational force on each particle, you will need to use vector addition. This means that you will need to break down the force into its horizontal and vertical components and then add them together to find the overall force acting on each particle. The direction will be determined by the direction of the overall force, which can be found using trigonometric functions such as sine and cosine. Alternatively, you can also use the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the magnitude and direction of the net gravitational force on each particle. It is important to note that since all three particles are located on a straight line, the direction of the gravitational force will be either towards or away from the other particles, depending on their respective masses.