Question

A student asks the following question:

"If all things with mass have a gravitational field, why doesn't this glue bottle and
stapler, sitting on the counter, stick together because of gravitational forces?"
Which classmate answers correctly?
Ashton says that the gravitational fields between the bottle and the stapler
cancel out because of Newton's 3rd Law.
O Natalie says that all things with mass have a gravitational field, but the force is
very weak and cannot be perceived around small objects.
Xavier says the bottle and the stapler are way too small to have a gravitational
field.
Katherine says the bottle and the stapler have a strong gravitational field, and
would move towards each other quickly if there were no friction on the counter.

Answer 1

Natalie says that all things with mass have a gravitational field, but the force is very weak and cannot be perceived around small objects.

Step-by-step explanation:

The force due to gravity is proportional to the mass of the object and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between objects. The Earth is so massive that the force due to its gravity is much greater than the force between objects on the counter.

If there were no friction, the objects might move toward each other, depending on what other masses were near them tending to cause them to move in other directions.

Natalie's explanation is about the best.

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Additional comment

The universal gravitational constant was determined by Henry Cavendish in the late 18th century using lead balls weighing 1.6 pounds and 348 pounds. His experiment was enclosed in a large wooden box to minimize outside effects. While these masses are somewhat greater than those of a glue bottle and stapler, the experiment shows the force of gravity between "small" objects can be measured.