Two asteroids have identical masses. One is twice as far from the Sun as the other. According to Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, the force on the more distant asteroid is which of the following?

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Multiple Choice

Two asteroids have identical masses. One is twice as far from the Sun as the other. According to Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, the force on the more distant asteroid is which of the following?

Explanation:
Gravitational force follows the inverse-square law: F ∝ 1/r^2. With the two asteroids having the same mass, the force each experiences from the Sun depends only on its distance r. If the more distant asteroid is twice as far, its distance is doubled, so its force becomes (2)^-2 = 1/4 of the closer asteroid’s force. Therefore, the more distant asteroid feels one-quarter of the Sun’s gravitational pull that the closer asteroid does.

Gravitational force follows the inverse-square law: F ∝ 1/r^2. With the two asteroids having the same mass, the force each experiences from the Sun depends only on its distance r. If the more distant asteroid is twice as far, its distance is doubled, so its force becomes (2)^-2 = 1/4 of the closer asteroid’s force. Therefore, the more distant asteroid feels one-quarter of the Sun’s gravitational pull that the closer asteroid does.

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