1. Mass:
* Directly proportional: The more massive an object is, the stronger its gravitational pull. This means if you double the mass of one object, the gravitational force between the two objects will also double.
2. Distance:
* Inversely proportional to the square of the distance: The farther apart two objects are, the weaker the gravitational force between them. Specifically, if you double the distance between two objects, the gravitational force between them will decrease by a factor of four (2 squared).
The Formula:
The formula for calculating gravitational force is:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2
Where:
* F is the force of gravity
* G is the gravitational constant (approximately 6.674 x 10^-11 N m^2/kg^2)
* m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects
* r is the distance between the centers of the two objects
In Summary:
* Increased mass: Stronger gravitational force
* Increased distance: Weaker gravitational force (decreases by the square of the distance)
Example:
Imagine you have two objects, one with a mass of 10 kg and the other with a mass of 20 kg. If they are 1 meter apart, they will exert a certain gravitational force on each other.
* Double the mass of one object: If you double the mass of the 10 kg object to 20 kg, the gravitational force will double.
* Double the distance: If you double the distance between the two objects to 2 meters, the gravitational force will decrease by a factor of four.
