Answer to Question #161092 in Physics for Brandon

Question

An object of mass m is from rest at a distanced from the center of a planetresulting in its acceleration How fast would the same object accelerate it were released a distance 2d from the center of the same planet?

Answer 1

The acceleration depends on the distance d from the center:

$$g(d)=\frac{GM}{d^2},$$

where M is the mass of the planet. Thus, for d it is as it is, for 2d it is

$$g(2d)=\frac{GM}{4d^2},$$

or four times smaller.