As a planet draws away from the sun in its orbit, the force between the sun and the planet

Question

Select Answer (increase or decrease or remains the same)
and the planet's speed
Select Answer (increase or decrease or remains the same)
.

Answer 1

As a planet draws away from the sun in its orbit:

1. The force between the sun and the planet decreases. According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two objects. As the distance increases, the gravitational force decreases.

2. The planet's speed decreases. In an elliptical orbit, as a planet moves away from the sun, it moves slower. This is described by Kepler's laws of planetary motion, particularly the law of areas, which states that a line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. Therefore, as the distance increases, the speed decreases.

So the complete response is:

• The force between the sun and the planet decreases.
• The planet's speed decreases.