The force due to gravity varies inversely as the square of the distance...

Question

The force due to gravity varies inversely as the square of the distance.

A 100 slug mass is pulled with a force of 50 lbs at 100 miles from a small moon.

What would the force be at 200 miles for the same object?

Answer 1

1. F = K/ (D)²  {where F is the force, k is the constant, and D is the distance}
2. 50 = K/ (100)²
3. 50*10000 = K
4. 500,000 = K
5. Now that K is known, it can be used to solve the force for any distance
6. F = 500,000 / (200)²
7. F = 500,000 / 40000
8. F = 12.5 lbs
9. The force went down as the distance increased, which makes sense.