Question

Use the table of the masses of several objects to answer the question.

Mass In Grams Of Common Objects
Object Mass (grams)
paper clip 1.0
penny 2.5
book 860
cereal box 500
small pot 1,200
Between which two objects is gravitational attraction the greatest if placed 1 meter apart?

(1 point)

between the penny and the small pot

between the paper clip and the penny

between the book and the cereal box

between the small pot and the book

Answer 1

Gravitational force ∝ product of the masses (for the same separation). Compute products:

- penny × small pot = 2.5 × 1200 = 3,000
- paper clip × penny = 1.0 × 2.5 = 2.5
- book × cereal box = 860 × 500 = 430,000
- small pot × book = 1200 × 860 = 1,032,000

The largest product is small pot × book, so the gravitational attraction is greatest between the small pot and the book.