Question

If two objects are 5 meters apart and both of them lose some mass, what will happen to the gravitational force between the objects?

A.It will increase.
B.It will decrease.
C.It will stay the same.

Answer 1

B) it will decrease

Remember that the gravitational force between two objects is roughly proportional to:

`\frac{(m1)(m2)}{ {r}^(2) }`
Where m1 is the mass of one object and m2 is the mass of the second object. Since r, the distance between objects doesn't change, all that will affect the gravitational force is the change in mass. If both masses are smaller, then the force is also smaller.