To determine the gravitational attraction between two objects, we can use Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that the gravitational force \( F \) between two masses \( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \) separated by a distance \( r \) is given by the formula:
\[ F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2} \]
where \( G \) is the gravitational constant.
In this case, we want to find the pair of objects that have the greatest gravitational attraction when placed 1 meter apart. Thus, we should look for the pair with the greatest product of their masses, since the distance \( r \) is constant (1 meter) for all comparisons.
Here are the masses of the objects:
- Paper clip: 1.0 grams
- Penny: 2.5 grams
- Book: 860 grams
- Cereal box: 500 grams
- Small pot: 1,200 grams
Now let's calculate the products of their masses for each relevant pair:
-
Paper clip and Penny:
\( 1.0 \times 2.5 = 2.5 \) -
Paper clip and Book:
\( 1.0 \times 860 = 860 \) -
Paper clip and Cereal box:
\( 1.0 \times 500 = 500 \) -
Paper clip and Small pot:
\( 1.0 \times 1200 = 1200 \) -
Penny and Book:
\( 2.5 \times 860 = 2150 \) -
Penny and Cereal box:
\( 2.5 \times 500 = 1250 \) -
Penny and Small pot:
\( 2.5 \times 1200 = 3000 \) -
Book and Cereal box:
\( 860 \times 500 = 430000 \) -
Book and Small pot:
\( 860 \times 1200 = 1032000 \) -
Cereal box and Small pot:
\( 500 \times 1200 = 600000 \)
Among all the calculated products, the largest product is between the Book and the Small pot, with a product of 1032000 grams².
Therefore, the answer is: between the small pot and the book.