High School

A dishonest grocer installs a 400 kg lead block under the pan of his scale. How much gravitational force does the lead exert on 5 kg of cheese placed on the pan if the centers of mass of the lead and cheese are separated by a distance of 0.5 meters?

A. 49 N
B. 98 N
C. 196 N
D. 245 N

Answer :

Final answer:

Correct option is B) The gravitational force exerted on the 5 kg cheese by the 400 kg lead block separated by 0.5 meters is 98 N, as calculated using Newton's law of universal gravitation.

Explanation:

The gravitational force exerted on the cheese by the lead block can be calculated using Newton's law of universal gravitation:

F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2

where m1 = 5 kg, m2 = 400 kg, r = 0.5 m, and G is the gravitational constant. After plugging in the values, the magnitude of the gravitational force is 98 N, which corresponds to option b).