Question
Why does doubling the mass of an object double its weight, but doubling its distance from the center of Earth reduces its weight fourfold? Hint: think of the affects of gravity and distance The weight is half the gravitational force between the object and Earth The weight is equal to the gravitational force between the object and Earth, and the gravitational force is inversely proportional to the distance squared between the object and Earth The weight is directly proportional to the square of the gravitational force between the object and Earth The weight is two times the gravitational force between the object and Earth
Ask by Lewis Parsons.
Mar 23,2025 18:11
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Answer
Doubling the mass of an object doubles its weight because weight is directly proportional to mass. However, doubling the distance from the center of the Earth reduces the weight by four times because the gravitational force decreases with the square of the distance.
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The Deep Dive
When you double the mass of an object, its weight also doubles because weight is directly proportional to mass. This means that if you have a heavier object, the gravitational pull it experiences from Earth increases correspondingly. Imagine carrying heavier weights in the gym—the more weight you add, the harder it is to lift!
On the flip side, when you double the distance from the center of the Earth, the gravitational force acting on the object decreases, specifically by a factor of four! This is due to the inverse square law of gravity—if you increase the distance, you have to square that change. So, increasing the distance reduces gravitational pull more drastically than simply adding mass would increase weight. It's a fun balancing act of physics!
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