How does gravitational force change with distance and what is its effect on orbital motion around Earth or the Sun?

How does gravitational force change with distance and what is its effect on orbital motion around Earth or the Sun?

• A. Inverse-square law: F ∝ 1/r^2; as distance increases, gravitational force decreases rapidly, shaping orbits.
• B. Gravitational force increases with distance.
• C. Gravitational force remains constant with distance.
• D. Gravitational force depends only on velocity, not distance.

Answer: (A)

Gravitational force follows an inverse-square law: F is proportional to 1 over r squared, where r is the distance between the masses. This means the pull drops off very quickly as you move farther away—if you double the distance, the force becomes one-quarter as strong. That distance dependence is what shapes orbital motion. The gravitational pull acts toward the center, providing the centripetal acceleration that bends an object’s path. The object's forward velocity determines whether that bend produces a circular orbit, a more oval (elliptical) orbit, or, if the speed is high enough, an escape trajectory. In short, gravity gets weaker with distance, and this changing pull guides how bodies orbit Earth or the Sun.

Gravitational force follows an inverse-square law: F is proportional to 1 over r squared, where r is the distance between the masses. This means the pull drops off very quickly as you move farther away—if you double the distance, the force becomes one-quarter as strong.

That distance dependence is what shapes orbital motion. The gravitational pull acts toward the center, providing the centripetal acceleration that bends an object’s path. The object's forward velocity determines whether that bend produces a circular orbit, a more oval (elliptical) orbit, or, if the speed is high enough, an escape trajectory. In short, gravity gets weaker with distance, and this changing pull guides how bodies orbit Earth or the Sun.