Question

1. explore the simulation to find ways to change the length of the blue gravity force arrows. collect your results in the table below. a) fill in an action below and write whether the gravitational force increases or decreases. action gravity force increases gravity force decreases put star and planet closer together √ b) what can affect the strength of gravitational force? what can you conclude from the results in your table?

Explanation:

Step1: Recall gravitational - force formula

The gravitational force \(F = G\frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}\), where \(G\) is the gravitational constant, \(m_1\) and \(m_2\) are the masses of the two objects, and \(r\) is the distance between them.

Step2: Analyze part (a)

When the star and planet are closer together, \(r\) decreases. Since \(F = G\frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}\), as \(r\) decreases, the value of \(F\) increases.

Step3: Analyze part (b)

From the formula \(F = G\frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}\), the strength of the gravitational force is affected by the masses of the two objects (\(m_1\) and \(m_2\)) and the distance (\(r\)) between them. Increasing the masses or decreasing the distance increases the gravitational force, and decreasing the masses or increasing the distance decreases the gravitational force.

Answer:

a) Another action: Move the star and planet farther apart. Gravity Force Decreases.
b) The strength of the gravitational force is affected by the masses of the two objects and the distance between them. The greater the masses of the objects and the smaller the distance between them, the greater the gravitational force; the smaller the masses of the objects and the larger the distance between them, the smaller the gravitational force.