Question

select all that apply
which statements about the gravitational field of an object with mass are accurate?

□ another object experiences a force due to the interaction between its mass and the gravitational field at its location.
□ the strength of the gravitational field at a location depends on the mass interacting with it.
□ the direction of the gravitational field g is away from the center of the object.
□ the strength of the gravitational field is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the object’s center.

Explanation:

• The first statement is correct: A mass in a gravitational field experiences force $F = m\vec{g}$, where $m$ is its mass and $\vec{g}$ is the field at its location.
• The second statement is incorrect: Gravitational field strength depends on the source mass, not the interacting mass.
• The third statement is incorrect: Gravitational field direction is toward the source mass’s center (attractive).
• The fourth statement is correct: Field strength follows the inverse-square law, $g \propto \frac{1}{r^2}$ (r = distance from source center).

Answer:

Another object experiences a force due to the interaction between its mass and the gravitational field at its location.
The strength of the gravitational field is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the object’s center.