how do you calcuate problems using the inverse square law? what do you even use it to determine?

Question

i am screwed for my physics test

to bad i left my effing physics book at school....thanks for the not helping...it seems to me that your just wasting your time on here reading questions you cant even answer so i wouldnt be talking

thank you mike1942f that was very helpful

Answer 1

The inverse square law says that one factor goes down as the other goes up (inverse) and it does by the square of the ratio of the change - double the distance, 1/4th the other factor.
It is usually in reference to energy acting on an area or force. Sound, light, heat, radio signal strength all act on the surface area of a sphere as distance increases. Forces are a bit more complicated, but gravity and planets in elliptical orbits obey the inverse square law.

Answer 2

Inverse square law explains the relationship between intensity of a force from a point source to the distance from the point source.

"The intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source"

Intensity α 1/d*2 (d square)

The formula can be extrapolated,

intensit1 = intensity 2
------------ ----------------
distance 1 *2 distance 2 *2

This applies to lot of forces like gravitational force, light, sound, radiation.

Answer 3

You'd have done better looking that up in the index of your physics book than using your time typing the question in here.

Answer 4

all of us understand that potential is proportional to a million/r^2. this suggests that: P/A = 1300W/m = ok/(re)^2 the place re is the radius of the earth. this suggests that two times as some distance away P/A = ok/(2re)^2 = ok/4re^2 = 1300W/m/4 = 325W/m