When an astronaut is on a spacewalk and is moving away from the space shuttle, how does the force of gravity between the two objects change?(1 point) Responses it goes down for the astronaut and goes up for the space shuttle it goes down for the astronaut and goes up for the space shuttle it goes up it goes up it goes down it goes down it goes up for the astronaut and goes down for the space shuttle
The force of gravity does not change between the astronaut and the space shuttle during a spacewalk. The force of gravity depends on the masses of the two objects and their distance apart, and these factors remain constant during the spacewalk. Therefore, the force of gravity between the astronaut and the space shuttle remains the same.
When an astronaut is on a spacewalk and moves away from the space shuttle, the force of gravity between the two objects decreases. This is because gravity follows the inverse-square law, which states that the force of gravity between two objects decreases as the distance between them increases.
To understand this concept, you can use Newton's law of universal gravitation, which is given by the formula:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2
Where:
- F is the force of gravity between two objects,
- G is the gravitational constant,
- m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects,
- r is the distance between the centers of the two objects.
In this case, as the astronaut moves away from the space shuttle, the distance (r) between them increases. As per the law, when the distance increases, the force of gravity (F) between them decreases. Therefore, the force of gravity goes down for the astronaut and also goes down for the space shuttle.