Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation (Problem 39)

(a) Calculate the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on a 4.20 kg baby by a 100 kg father 0.200 m away at birth (he is assisting, so he is close to the child).(b) Calculate the magnitude of the force on the baby due to Jupiter if it is at its closest distance to Earth, some $6.29\times {10}^{11}\text{m}$ away. How does the force of Jupiter on the baby compare to the force of the father on the baby? Other objects in the room and the hospital building also exert similar gravitational forces. (Of course, there could be an unknown force acting, but scientists first need to be convinced that there is even an effect, much less that an unknown force causes it.) Select the answer to part (a).