The mass of an object doubles. What happens to the gravitational force between it and another object whose mass stays the same, assuming they remain the same distance apart?
Responses:
a) The amount of the gravitational force quadruples.
b) The amount of the gravitational force decreases by one-half.
c) The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
d) The amount of the gravitational force remains the same.
c) The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
The correct answer is c) The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
The gravitational force between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
When the mass of one object doubles while the mass of the other object remains the same, the product of their masses doubles. Since the gravitational force is directly proportional to the product of their masses, the gravitational force will also double.
Therefore, the gravitational force between the two objects will double if the mass of one object doubles while the other object's mass remains the same and their distance remains constant.