Question

Tamra knows that gravitational force exists between objects that are not in contact with each other. She is investigating gravitational force using two objects that are of equal mass. The two objects are at distance of 5 ft apart from each other. What will most likely occur if Tamra increases the distance between the objects to 10 ft ? A) The gravitational force will not change B) the gravitational force will increases C) the gravitational force will disappear D) the gravitational force will decrease

Answer 1

The correct answer is D) the gravitational force will decrease.

Gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between two objects, as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation. Mathematically, the gravitational force (F) between two masses (m1 and m2) is given by the formula:

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

where \( G \) is the gravitational constant and \( r \) is the distance between the centers of the two masses.

If Tamra increases the distance from 5 ft to 10 ft, the gravitational force will decrease because the distance \( r \) is now larger, leading to a smaller force according to the inverse square relationship.