Force of gravity of two masses....

Question

How would the force of gravity between two masses be affected if the separation distance between them were the following? (Assume F₂ represents the new force and F₁ represents the original force.)

(a) quadruple the original distance
F₂ / F₁ = ____

(b) one-fourth the original distance
F₂ / F₁ = ____

Answer 1

The force of gravity varies by the SQUARE of the INVERSE (or RECIPROCAL) of the distance.

 

So if the distance is multiplied by 4, the force between them is multiplied by 1/16.

 

So (a) is 1/16 and (b) is 16.