D. the gravitational force increases by a factor of 4
Explanation:
The magnitude of the gravitational force between two objects is given by:
[tex]F=G\frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}[/tex]
where
[tex]G=6.67\cdot 10^{-11} m^3 kg^{-1}s^{-2}[/tex] is the gravitational constant
m1, m2 are the masses of the two objects
r is the separation between them
Here let's call F the initial gravitational force between the two objects. Later, the distance between the objects is halved, so the new distance is:
[tex]r'=\frac{r}{2}[/tex]
Substituting into the equation, we find the new force:
[tex]F'=G\frac{m_1 m_2}{(r/2)^2}=4(G\frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2})=4F[/tex]
Therefore, the gravitational force increases by a factor of 4.
Learn more about gravitational force:
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