The statement that the gravitational force between two objects depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them is best supported by Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. This law mathematically describes the gravitational force (F) as:
\[ F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2} \]
where:
- \( F \) is the gravitational force between two objects,
- \( G \) is the gravitational constant,
- \( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \) are the masses of the two objects, and
- \( r \) is the distance between the centers of the two objects.
From this equation, it is clear that:
- The force is directly proportional to the product of the masses (\( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \)), meaning that if one or both masses increase, the gravitational force will increase.
- The force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (\( r^2 \)) between the objects, meaning that as the distance increases, the gravitational force decreases significantly.
Thus, this explanation highlights how both mass and distance play crucial roles in determining the gravitational force, supporting the person's statement effectively.