The expression \(3 \times 10^5 \) kg represents the mass involved in calculating the gravitational force on the space shuttle. To understand what it signifies, let's look at the given formula for gravitational force:
[tex]\[ F_g = G \frac{\left(3 \times 10^5 \ \text{kg}\right)\left(6 \times 10^{24} \, \text{kg}\right)}{\left[\left(6.4 \times 10^6 \, \text{m}\right)+\left(1.8 \times 10^5 \, \text{m}\right)\right]^2} \][/tex]
In the formula for gravitational force \( F_g \):
- \( G \) is the gravitational constant.
- \( 3 \times 10^5 \ \text{kg} \) is one of the masses being multiplied.
- \( 6 \times 10^{24} \ \text{kg} \) is the other mass (the mass of Earth).
- The denominator is the square of the distance between the centers of the two masses.
The \(3 \times 10^5 \ \text{kg}\) represents the mass of the space shuttle. This value is used in the numerator along with Earth's mass to calculate the gravitational force experienced by the space shuttle.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
- the mass of the space shuttle
