Suppose that a planet of 10 times the mass of Earth were orbiting the Sun at the same distance as Earth (1 AU).The gravitational force on this planet due to the Sun would be
A) 100 times that on Earth due to the Sun.
B) 1/10 of that on Earth due to the Sun.
C) 1/100 of that on Earth due to the Sun.
D) 10 times that on Earth due to the Sun.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The gravitational force between two objects is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Since the distance between the Sun and the planet is the same as the distance between the Sun and Earth, the gravitational force is only dependent on the masses of the objects. The mass of the planet is 10 times that of Earth, so the gravitational force on the planet due to the Sun would be 10 times that on Earth due to the Sun. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Suppose That a Planet of 10 Times the Mass of Earth