Practice explaining and predicting how gravitational force changes when mass or distance changes.
Read each problem carefully. Show your reasoning and include units or comparison words when they are helpful.
Explore how gravity changes with mass and distance
Physics - Grade 6-8
- 1
Two objects attract each other with gravity. Object A has a mass of 5 kg, and object B has a mass of 10 kg. If the mass of object A is increased to 15 kg while everything else stays the same, what happens to the gravitational force between them?
- 2
A planet and a moon are held together by gravity. If the distance between their centers doubles, what happens to the strength of the gravitational force between them?
- 3
Explain why Earth pulls on you with more gravitational force than a small asteroid does.
- 4
Two identical satellites orbit Earth. Satellite X is closer to Earth, and Satellite Y is farther from Earth. Which satellite feels a stronger gravitational pull from Earth, and why?
- 5
A spacecraft travels away from Earth. As its distance from Earth's center increases, describe how Earth's gravitational pull on the spacecraft changes.
- 6
Suppose two bowling balls attract each other with a tiny gravitational force. If both bowling balls are replaced with balls that each have twice as much mass, and the distance stays the same, how does the gravitational force change?
- 7
Complete the comparison: If the distance between two objects becomes 3 times larger, the gravitational force becomes what fraction of its original strength?
- 8
A student says, "Only very large objects have gravity." Explain why this statement is incorrect.
- 9
Look at the situation: Object A has a mass of 20 kg, object B has a mass of 20 kg, and they are 2 meters apart. Object C has a mass of 20 kg, object D has a mass of 20 kg, and they are 4 meters apart. Which pair has the stronger gravitational force?
- 10
On the Moon, your weight is less than on Earth, but your mass is the same. Explain the difference between mass and weight in this example.
- 11
Two planets have the same size, but Planet A has twice the mass of Planet B. If you stood the same distance from each planet's center, which planet would pull on you more strongly?
- 12
Use this rule: gravitational force is proportional to mass 1 times mass 2 divided by distance squared. If the distance stays the same, and one mass is tripled while the other mass is doubled, how many times stronger is the force?
- 13
A comet passes near the Sun. As the comet gets closer to the Sun, what happens to the gravitational force between the Sun and the comet?
- 14
If two objects are moved from 6 meters apart to 2 meters apart, the distance becomes one third as large. How does the gravitational force change?
- 15
Write a short explanation using the words mass, distance, and gravity: Why do astronauts still orbit Earth even though they are far above the surface?