According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, if the Moon were three times furtherfrom Earth, the force by Earth on the Moon would:
A)increase by a factor of 3.
B)decrease by a factor of 3.
C)increase by a factor of 9.
D)decrease by a factor of 9.
E)stay the same.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between two objects. Therefore, if the Moon were three times further from Earth, the distance between them would be 3^2 = 9 times greater. As force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, it would decrease by a factor of 9. Therefore, the correct answer is D) decrease by a factor of 9. According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, the force between two objects decreases as the distance between them increases. The force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. If the distance between Earth and Moon is tripled, then the force will decrease by a factor of 9 (3^2). Therefore, the correct option is D.

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, If the Moon