Question

State whether true or false.
Gravitational forces can also be repulsive like that of electrostatic forces.
A) True.
B) False.

Answer 1

Gravitational force is defined as the force of attraction between the two bodies. Electrostatic force is defined as an attractive or repulsive force between the two electrically charged objects; it is also known as the Coulomb force.

Formula used: The formula of the gravitational force is given by,
$\Rightarrow F = G\left( {\dfrac{{{m_1}{m_2}}}{{{r^2}}}} \right)$
Where force is F the gravitational constant the mass of the two objects is ${m_1}$ and ${m_2}$ the distance between the center of the masses is r.

Complete answer
It is asked in the problem of whether gravitational force can be repulsive or not.
The force is attractive or repulsive this can be defined on the basis that the two particles are positive or negative. If the final force comes out to be negative then the force is considered as the repulsive and if the final force comes out to be positive then the force is considered as attractive. The electrostatic force can be attractive or repulsive because the sign of the charges can be positive or negative, but for gravitational force the planets are considered and the mass of the planets cannot be negative and therefore the gravitational force cannot be repulsive in nature.
So the gravitational force cannot be negative and hence the gravitational force can only be attractive and cannot be repulsive.

The correct answer for this problem is option B.

Note: It advisable for students to understand the concept of gravitational force and electrostatic force. There is a difference between the electrostatic force and gravitational force The electrostatic force is for charges and gravitational force is for masses. The charges can be positive or negative but mass cannot be negative.