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View Full Version : Altitude above Earth's surface


ayan333
Dec 11, 2007, 05:49 PM
At what altitude above Earth's surface would the gravitational acceleration be 4.4 m/s2?
Help.

Capuchin
Dec 12, 2007, 02:11 AM
F = ma

F = \frac{GMm}{r^2}

equate the two to get:

ma = \frac{GMm}{r^2}

Cancel m to get

a = \frac{GM}{r^2}

here a is g (4.4m/s/s), G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the Earth and g is the distance from the center of mass of the Earth.

Should be easy from here.