Question

Three asteroids have exactly the same amount of mass. The distance from asteroid A to asteroid B is 300 km, the distance from asteroid B to C is 400 km, and the distance from C to A is 100 km. Between which two asteroids would the gravitational force be the largest?
A). Between asteroid A and B.
B). Between asteroid B and C.
C). Between asteroid C and A.
D). The gravitational force between each pair of asteroids would be the same.

Answer 1

Gravitational force is given by the following formula:

F = GMm/r^2
Where;
F = Gravitational force, G = Gravitational constant, M & m = masses of two bodies which are constant in this case, and r = distance between the masses.

It can be seen that F α 1/r^2.
Therefore, the far the two masses are from each other, the smaller the gravitational force and vice versa.
It is indicated that:
AB = 300 km
BC = 400 km
CA = 100 km

Therefore,
gravitational force will largest between C and A due to smaller distance between them.<span />