What would decrease the gravitational pull between the sun and Earth?(1 point)
Responses
if the sun was twice its size
if the sun was twice its size
if Earth was closer to the sun
if Earth was closer to the sun
if Earth was twice its size
if Earth was twice its size
if the sun was farther away from Earth
The gravitational pull between two objects is determined by the gravitational constant (G), the mass of the two objects, and the distance between their centers. According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, the force of gravity (F) between two objects is given by the equation:
\[ F = G \cdot \frac{{m_1 \cdot m_2}}{{r^2}} \]
where:
- \( F \) is the force of gravity,
- \( G \) is the gravitational constant,
- \( m_1 \) and \( m_2 \) are the masses of the two objects, and
- \( r \) is the distance between the centers of the two objects.
From this equation, it's evident that the gravitational pull increases with the masses of the objects and decreases as the distance between them (\( r \)) increases. Therefore, the gravitational pull would decrease if the distance between the Earth and the sun were to increase.
Thus, the correct option from the provided responses is:
"if the sun was farther away from Earth"