The gravitational force acting between the Earth and a 1500-kg car is approximately 14,000 Newtons. What would be the gravitational force acting between the Earth and a 3000-kg hippopotamus?(1 point)

Responses

7,000 Newtons
7,000 Newtons

14,000 Newtons
14,000 Newtons

56,000 Newtons
56,000 Newtons

28,000 Newtons

1 answer

The gravitational force between two objects can be calculated using the formula:

\[ F = m \cdot g \]

where \( F \) is the gravitational force, \( m \) is the mass of the object, and \( g \) is the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately \( 9.8 , \text{m/s}^2 \) on the surface of the Earth.

For the car, we have:

  • Mass \( m = 1500 , \text{kg} \)
  • Gravitational force \( F = 1500 , \text{kg} \times g = 14,000 , \text{N} \) (given)

For the hippopotamus:

  • Mass \( m = 3000 , \text{kg} \)

Now we can calculate the gravitational force:

\[ F = 3000 , \text{kg} \times g \]

Since \( g \) will provide the same gravitational acceleration, we can determine that:

Since the force acting on the car is \( 14,000 , \text{N} \) for \( 1500 , \text{kg} \), we can find the force for a \( 3000 , \text{kg} \) object using a direct proportion:

The force scales with mass, so:

\[ \text{New force} = \left(\frac{3000 , \text{kg}}{1500 , \text{kg}}\right) \times 14,000 , \text{N} \] \[ = 2 \times 14,000 , \text{N} \] \[ = 28,000 , \text{N} \]

Therefore, the gravitational force acting between the Earth and a 3000-kg hippopotamus is 28,000 Newtons.