Question

What would happen to the magnitude of the force if the distance between the 2 masses is decreased by 6

Answer 1

36 times larger

Step-by-step explanation:

If the magnitude of the force is decreased by 6, we can replace d by d/6 in the initial equation, so

`\begin{gathered} F_g=(Gm_1m_2)/(d^2) \\ F_g=(Gm_1m_2)/(((d)/(6))^2)=(Gm_1m_2)/((d^2)/(36))=36(Gm_1m_2)/(d^2) \end{gathered}`

So, when we replace d by d/6, we get that the same expression of the force is now multiplied by 36. It means that the force will increase by 36.

Therefore, the answer is:

36 times larger