Question

If instead the distance between the moon and the planet were 7 times as large (no change in mass), what would the magnitude of the force be?

Answer 1

Answer:

Reduced by 49 times

Explanation:

We have Newton formula for attraction force between 2 objects with mass and a distance between them:

$F_G = G\frac{M_1M_2}{R^2}$

where G is the gravitational constant. $M = M_1 = M_2$ are the masses of the 2 objects. and R is the distance between them.

Since R squared is in the denominator of the formula, if we make it 7 times as large with no change in mass, gravitational force would be dropped by 7*7 = 49 times