Is the earth's gravitational force on the sun larger than, smaller than, or equal to the sun's gravitational force on the earth? The earth's gravitational force on the sun is larger than the sun's gravitational force on the earth The earth's gravitational force on the sun is smaller than the sun's gravitational force on the earth The earth's gravitational force on the sun is equal to the sun's gravitational force on the earth

Question

Physics

Keon Romero

21 September, 06:46

Is the earth's gravitational force on the sun larger than, smaller than, or equal to the sun's gravitational force on the earth? The earth's gravitational force on the sun is larger than the sun's gravitational force on the earth The earth's gravitational force on the sun is smaller than the sun's gravitational force on the earth The earth's gravitational force on the sun is equal to the sun's gravitational force on the earth

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Answers (1)

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Sandra Prince · Answer 1

The earth's gravitational force on the sun is equal to the sun's gravitational force on the earth

Explanation:

Newton's third law (law of action-reaction) states that:

"When an object A exerts a force (called action) on an object B, then object B exerts an equal and opposite force (called reaction) on object A"

In other words, when two objects exert a force on each other, then the magnitude of the two forces is the same (while the directions are opposite).

In this problem, we can call the Sun as "object A" and the Earth as "object B". According to Newton's third law, therefore, we can say that the gravitational force that the Earth exerts on the Sun is equal (in magnitude, and opposite in direction) to the gravitational force that the Sun exerts on the Earth.