Does the Sun exert a force on the Earth and compare to the gravitational forces exerted by the sun and the moon on the Earth, which exerts a greater force and by how many times?
The Sun exerts a greater gravitational force on the Earth than the Moon does. So, why does the Moon have a greater effect on the tides. The gravitational force of the sun is around 200 times that of the moon, but it's 400 times farther away, so the sun's tidal effect is half that of the moon. The force exerted on the Earth by the Sun is equal and opposite to the force exerted on the Sun by the Earth. If the mass of the Earth were doubled, the force on the Earth would double. As the Sun is very large, it exerts a great gravitational force on Earth. The Sun's gravitational force is like the tetherball rope, in that it constantly pulls Earth toward it. Hence, the force is, F S E = G m S m E r S E 2 = 6.67 × 10 − 11 N ⋅ m 2 / k g 2 ⋅ 1.99 × 10 30 k g ⋅ 5.97 × 10 24 k g 1.47 2 × 10 22 m 2 = 3.67 × 10 22 N . The force exerted on the Earth by the Sun is equal and opposite to the force exerted on the Sun by the Earth. If the mass of the Earth were doubled, the force on the Earth would double. You actually exert a gravitational force on the Earth, but because your mass is many times smaller than the Earth's mass, your pull is much less than the Earth's. Gravity is measured as how fast objects accelerate towards each other. The average gravitational pull of the Earth is 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s2). The gravitational force exerted by the Sun on the Moon is about twice as great as the gravitational force exerted by the earth on the Moon, but still Moon is not escaping from the gravitational influence of the earth. The force exerted by the sun on earth is about 76 times the force exerted by the moon on earth. Based on its mass, the sun's gravitational attraction to the Earth is more than 177 times greater than that of the moon to the Earth. The force of gravity on Earth is 6 times greater than on the moon. As a result, objects weigh 6 times as much on Earth as they do on the moon. A scientific instrument weighs 34 pounds on the moon. The gravitational force exerted by the Sun on the Moon is about twice as great as the gravitational force exerted by the earth on the Moon, but still Moon is not escaping from the gravitational influence of the earth.
- Badges
- Science topic