The gravitational force between two masses is 500N. What is the gravitational force if the masses are doubled and distance between them is likewise doubled?
What formula/s should I use?
To solve this question, you can use Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that the gravitational force between two masses is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The formula for Newton's law of universal gravitation is:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2
where:
F is the gravitational force,
G is the gravitational constant (approximately 6.67430 × 10^-11 N m^2 kg^-2),
m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and
r is the distance separating the centers of the two objects.
Now, let's apply this formula to solve the problem. Since the masses are doubled and the distance between them is also doubled, we can write the new situation as:
F2 = G * (2m * 2m) / (2r)^2
Simplifying this equation, we have:
F2 = G * (4 * m^2) / 4r^2
F2 = G * m^2 / r^2
Now, we can see that the gravitational force in the new situation will be the same as the original gravitational force, which is 500 N. The masses and distances cancel out, so the gravitational force remains constant.
Therefore, the gravitational force between the two masses is still 500 N in the new situation when the masses are doubled, and the distance between them is likewise doubled.