Question
What happens to the gravitational potential energy of an object as it gets further away from the earth? ¿Qué sucede con la energia potencial gravitacional de un objeto a medida que se aleja de la Tierra? There is not enough information to answer this question / No hay suficiente información para responder a esta pregunta. It decreases / disminuye It increases / Incrementa It stays the same / sigue igual
Solution
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KennedyMaster · Tutor for 5 years
Answer
The correct answer is:<br /><br />**It increases / Incrementa**<br /><br />### Explanation:<br />Gravitational potential energy (GPE) is given by the formula: <br />\[<br />U = -\frac{G M m}{r}<br />\]<br />where:<br />- \( U \) is the gravitational potential energy,<br />- \( G \) is the gravitational constant,<br />- \( M \) is the mass of the Earth,<br />- \( m \) is the mass of the object, and<br />- \( r \) is the distance between the center of the Earth and the object.<br /><br />As the object moves further away from the Earth (\( r \) increases), the magnitude of the negative value of \( U \) decreases, meaning the gravitational potential energy becomes **less negative**. This corresponds to an **increase** in gravitational potential energy.
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