The mass of an object doubles. What happens to the gravitational force between it and another object whose mass stays the same, assuming they remain the same distance apart?(1 point)

Question

Responses

The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
The amount of the gravitational force doubles.

The amount of the gravitational force remains the same.
The amount of the gravitational force remains the same.

The amount of the gravitational force decreases by one-half.
The amount of the gravitational force decreases by one-half.

The amount of the gravitational force quadruples.

Answer 1

The correct response is:

The amount of the gravitational force doubles.

According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the gravitational force \( F \) between two objects is given by the equation:

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

where:

• \( G \) is the gravitational constant,
• \( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \) are the masses of the two objects,
• \( r \) is the distance between the centers of the two masses.

If the mass of one object (say \( m_1 \)) doubles while the other mass (\( m_2 \)) and the distance (\( r \)) remain constant, the gravitational force \( F \) will also double.