Suppose two asteroids are located at the same distance from the Sun. One asteroid has twice the mass of the other. According to Newton's law of gravitation (and ignoring all forces except that from the Sun),
A) the more massive asteroid feels half the force that the other does.
B) the more massive asteroid feels twice the force that the other does.
C) neither feels any force because they are weightless in space.
D) both asteroids feel the same force because gravity acts equally on all objects.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Newton's law of gravitation, the gravitational force (F) between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses (m1 and m2) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) between their centers: F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2. If one asteroid has twice the mass of the other but both are at the same distance from the Sun, the more massive asteroid will feel twice the gravitational force because the force depends directly on the mass of the asteroid.

Suppose Two Asteroids Are Located at the Same Distance from the Sun