Question

question 3 of 10
what happened as the mass of the sun increased during the formation of the solar system?
a. the gravitational force of the sun decreased.
b. the gravitational force of the sun increased.
c. the gravitational force of the sun gained inertia.
d. the gravitational force of the sun stayed constant.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall gravitational - force formula

The gravitational force \(F = G\frac{Mm}{r^{2}}\), where \(G\) is the gravitational constant, \(M\) is the mass of one object (in this case the Sun), \(m\) is the mass of another object, and \(r\) is the distance between them.

Step2: Analyze the effect of mass increase

When the mass \(M\) of the Sun increases (while \(G\), \(m\) and \(r\) remain constant in the context of the Sun - object interaction during solar - system formation), according to the formula \(F = G\frac{Mm}{r^{2}}\), the gravitational force \(F\) will increase.

Answer:

B. The gravitational force of the Sun increased.