On what properties does the force of gravity between two objects depend?

1 Answer
Mar 16, 2018

Their masses and their distance from their centers.

Explanation:

Newton's universal law of gravitation states that

#F=(Gm_1m_2)/r^2#

where #G# is the universal gravitation constant, #6.67*10^-11 \ "N" \ "m"^2 \ "kg"^-2#, #m_1,m_2# are the masses of the two objects, and #r# is the distance between the objects' centers.

Since #G# is a constant, it cannot change, and the only factors left that depend are #m_1,m_2#, and #r#. So, we write the equation as:

#F=k(m_1m_2)/r^2#

From here, we got two relationships between #F# and the other factors:

#Fpropm_1m_2#

#Fprop1/r^2#