The mass of an object doubles. What happens to the gravitational force between it and another object, assuming they remain the same distance apart?
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1 point
The amount of the gravitational force decreases by one-half.
The amount of the gravitational force quadruples.
The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
The amount of the gravitational force remains the same
The amount of the gravitational force doubles.
The amount of the gravitational force doubles
To determine the effect of doubling the mass of an object on the gravitational force between it and another object, we can refer to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. The equation is given as:
F = (G * m1 * m2) / d^2
Where:
- F represents the gravitational force between the two objects,
- G is the gravitational constant (a fixed value),
- m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and
- d represents the distance between the centers of the two objects.
Assuming the distance remains the same, if the mass of one of the objects doubles, let's say m1, we can rewrite the equation for F as:
F' = (G * 2m1 * m2) / d^2
Now, let's compare the original gravitational force (F) with the new one (F'):
F' = (G * 2m1 * m2) / d^2
= (2 * G * m1 * m2) / d^2
= 2 * (G * m1 * m2) / d^2
= 2F
Therefore, when the mass of an object doubles, the gravitational force between it and another object also doubles. Hence, the correct answer is: "The amount of the gravitational force doubles."