Answer:
44.7 N
Explanation:
The gravitational force between the objects is given by:
[tex]F=G\frac{mM}{r^2}[/tex]
where
G is the gravitational constant
m and M are the masses of the two objects
r is the distance between the centres of the two objects
In this problem, we have:
[tex]m=5.0 kg[/tex] is the mass of the sphere
[tex]M=5.98\cdot 10^{24} kg[/tex] is the Earth's mass
[tex]R=6370 km[/tex] is the Earth's radius, while h=310 km is the altitude of the sphere, so the distance of the sphere from Earth's centre is
[tex]r=6370 km+310 km=6680 km=6.68\cdot 10^6 m[/tex]
Substituting into the equation, we find
[tex]F=(6.67\cdot 10^{-11})\frac{(5.0 kg)(5.98\cdot 10^{24} kg)}{(6.68\cdot 10^6 m)^2}=44.7 N[/tex]
