Question

🔍 Scenario A
Object 1 (Left): Has a mass of 10 billion kilograms. It is represented by a large sphere.

Object 2 (Right): Has a mass of 1 billion kilograms. It is represented by a much smaller sphere.

Observation: The arrows pulling the objects together are unequal in size. The arrow on the 10 billion kg sphere pointing towards the 1 billion kg sphere appears longer than the arrow on the 1 billion kg sphere pointing towards the 10 billion kg sphere. This visually misrepresents the law of universal gravitation.

⚖️ Scenario B
Object 1 (Left): Has a mass of 10 billion kilograms. It is represented by a large sphere.

Object 2 (Right): Has a mass of 2 billion kilograms. It is represented by a medium-sized sphere, larger than the 1 billion kg sphere in A but still smaller than Object 1.

Observation: The arrows pulling the objects together are equal in size (length). This correctly illustrates Newton's Third Law of Motion and the Law of Universal Gravitation, which states that the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in magnitude to the force exerted by the second object on the first object, even if their masses are different.

💡 Key Concept Illustrated
The image appears to be a comparison where Scenario B correctly represents the scientific principle:

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, the magnitude of the gravitational force (F
g
​
) between two objects is calculated as:

F
g
​
=G
r
2

m
1
​
m
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.

Crucially, the force exerted on m
1
​
by m
2
​
is equal to the force exerted on m
2
​
by m
1
​
. Therefore, the forces (the arrows) in Scenario B should be equal in length, regardless of the difference between the 10 billion kg and 2 billion kg masses.

The depiction in Scenario A (where the arrows are unequal) is a common misconception, as many people incorrectly believe the more massive object exerts a greater force.

Which image shows objects that are exerting less gravitational force on each other?



(1 point)
Responses

Image A
Image A

Image B
Image B

They are exerting the same amount of force.
They are exerting the same amount of force.

There is not enough information provided to answer the question.
There is not enough information provided to answer the question.

Answer 1

Image A.

Reason: F = G m1 m2 / r^2, so with the same separation the force is proportional to m1·m2. Scenario A: 1×10^10 kg × 1×10^9 kg = 1×10^19; Scenario B: 1×10^10 kg × 2×10^9 kg = 2×10^19. The force in A is half that in B. (In each scenario the forces on the two objects are equal in magnitude by Newton’s third law.)