Question

Dylan has a weight of 540 N when he is standing on the surface of the Earth. What would his weight (the gravitational force due to the Earth) be if he tripled his distance from the center of the Earth by flying in a spacecraft?
His weight would be
N when the distance from the center of the Earth is tripled.

Answer 1

60N

The gravitational force between two objects is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. So, if Dylan triples his distance from the center of the Earth, the gravitational force acting on him will decrease according to the inverse square law.

Let F1 be the gravitational force when Dylan is standing on the surface of the Earth, and F2 be the gravitational force when he triples his distance from the center of the Earth.

According to the inverse square law:

\F2 = F1/3²

Given that F1 = 540N: F2=540/9. F2=60N

So, Dylan's weight (the gravitational force due to the Earth) would be 60 N when the distance from the center of the Earth is tripled.