Question

If all else stays the same, which would cause an increase in the gravitational force on a space shuttle?

Answer 1

Answer:

decreasing the distance of the space shuttle from Earth

increasing the universal gravitational constant acting on the space shuttle*

Explanation:

The magnitude of the gravitational force acting between the Earth and the shuttle is given by:

$F=G\frac{Mm}{r^2}$

where

G is the gravitational constant

M is the mass of the Earth

m is the mass of the shuttle

r is the distance between the shuttle and the Earth's center

By looking at the formula, we see check the effect of each statement given:

- increasing the distance of the space shuttle from Earth  --> FALSE: this means increasing r in the formula, so the gravitational force would decrease

- decreasing the distance of the space shuttle from Earth  --> TRUE: this means decreasing r in the formula, so the gravitational force would increase

- increasing the universal gravitational constant acting on the space shuttle  --> TRUE: this means increasing G in the formula, so the gravitational force would increase. *However, technically is not possible to change the value of G, since it is a universal constant and it has the same value everywhere.

- decreasing the universal gravitational constant acting on the space shuttle: FALSE --> Decreasing G in the formula would decrease the magnitude of the force.

Answer 2

"decreasing the distance of the space shuttle from Earth" 

F = Gm(1)m(2)/R²
where R is the distance between the 2 objects, as it decreases, the force increases.