Question

The force of gravity is an inverse square law. This means that, if you double the distance between two large masses, the gravitational force between them?

1) also doubles.
2) weakens by a factor of 4.
3) is unaffected.
4) weakens by a factor of 2.
5) strengthens by a factor of 4.

Answer 1

The gravitational force weakens by a factor of 4 when you double the distance between two large masses.

Step-by-step explanation:

The force of gravity is an inverse-square law, which means that if you double the distance between two large masses, the gravitational force between them weakens by a factor of 4.

This can be explained by Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that the gravitational force is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

So, doubling the distance results in the force becoming (1/2)^2 = 1/4 of its original strength.