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
it goes down
it goes up
it goes up
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 for the astronaut and goes down for the space shuttle
it goes down for the astronaut and goes up for the space shuttle
To understand how the force of gravity changes between the astronaut and the space shuttle during a spacewalk, we need to remember the basic principles of gravity.
Gravity is a force of attraction between two objects with mass. According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, the force of gravity between two objects is directly proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers of mass.
In this case, we have two objects: the astronaut and the space shuttle. When the astronaut moves away from the space shuttle during a spacewalk, the distance between them increases. According to the law of universal gravitation, as the distance between two objects increases, the force of gravity between them decreases.
So, the correct answer is:
- It goes down for the astronaut and goes up for the space shuttle.
As the astronaut moves away from the space shuttle, the force of gravity between them decreases for the astronaut. The space shuttle also experiences a decrease in the force of gravity, but since it has a much larger mass compared to the astronaut, this decrease is insignificant and can be considered as going up.
It's important to note that although the force of gravity decreases as the distance between two objects increases, it never completely disappears. It always exists, just with less strength as the distance increases.