The mass of an object doubles. What happens to the gravitational force between it and another object whose mass stays the same, assuming they remain the same distance apart?(1 point)

Responses

The amount of the gravitational force decreases by one-half.
The amount of the gravitational force decreases by one-half.

The amount of the gravitational force quadruples.
The amount of the gravitational force quadruples.

The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
The amount of the gravitational force doubles.

The amount of the gravitational force remains the same.

1 answer

The amount of the gravitational force doubles.

According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the gravitational force \( F \) between two objects is given by the equation:

\[ F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2} \]

where \( G \) is the gravitational constant, \( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \) are the masses of the two objects, and \( r \) is the distance between their centers. If the mass of one object (let's say \( m_1 \)) doubles, while the other mass (\( m_2 \)) and the distance \( r \) remain the same, the gravitational force will also double because it is directly proportional to the masses involved.