Question

If someone drops a cup, it falls to the ground. Why doesn’t the gravitational force between the person’s hand and the cup keep the cup from falling?

Option 1: The cup does not experience any gravitational force because it is not a planet.
Option 2: The gravitational force between the hand and the cup is so strong that it pushes the cup down.
Option 3: There is no gravitational force between the hand and the cup, so Earth’s gravitational force pulls the cup down.
Option 4: There is a gravitational force between the hand and the cup, but Earth’s gravity is stronger, so Earth’s gravity pulls the cup down.

Answer 1

When a cup is dropped, the gravitational force between the cup and the person's hand is present but negligible compared to the much stronger gravitational force that Earth exerts on the cup, which causes it to fall.

Step-by-step explanation:

If someone drops a cup, it does indeed experience a gravitational force due to the person's hand; however, this force is relatively minute compared to Earth's gravity. The correct answer is: Option 4: There is a gravitational force between the hand and the cup, but Earth’s gravity is stronger, so Earth’s gravity pulls the cup down. Every object with mass exerts a gravitational pull on every other object with mass; however, the strength of this pull (the gravitational force) is proportional to the masses of the objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers of mass. Since the mass of the Earth is so colossal compared to that of a cup or a hand, the gravitational force it exerts is much more influential, resulting in the cup falling towards Earth when dropped. This is observed with all objects, be it a falling apple or the Moon's orbit around Earth, which are influenced by the same fundamental force of gravity.