If the mass of the Earth were to double, what would happen to the gravitational
Practice Questions
Q1
If the mass of the Earth were to double, what would happen to the gravitational force experienced by an object on its surface?
It doubles
It halves
It quadruples
It remains the same
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the mass of the Earth were to double, what would happen to the gravitational force experienced by an object on its surface?
Step 1: Understand that gravitational force depends on mass.
Step 2: Remember the formula for gravitational force: F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where m1 is the mass of the Earth, m2 is the mass of the object, G is the gravitational constant, and r is the distance from the center of the Earth.
Step 3: If the mass of the Earth (m1) doubles, replace m1 with 2 * m1 in the formula.
Step 4: Notice that if m1 doubles, the gravitational force (F) also doubles because it is directly proportional to mass.
Step 5: Conclude that if the mass of the Earth doubles, the gravitational force experienced by an object on its surface will also double.
Gravitational Force – The gravitational force experienced by an object is determined by the mass of the object and the mass of the Earth, as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation.
Proportionality – The relationship between mass and gravitational force is directly proportional, meaning if one increases, the other does as well.