Question

The universal law of gravitation was postulated by:
A. Copernicus
B. Newton
C. Galileo
D. Archimedes

Answer 1

In this question, we need to comment on who postulated the universal law of gravitation. For this, we will follow the concept of gravitation and the law established.

Complete step by step answer: Sir Isaac Newton (or just Newton) postulated the universal law of gravitation in the year of 1687 (precisely on 5th July 1687) which states that the “Every particle on the Universe is attracted by another particle by a force which is proportional to the product of the masses involve and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the masses involved. Mathematically,
${F_G} \propto {m_1}{m_2}$ and ${F_G} \propto {1/}{{{r^2}}}$ where, ${F_G}$ is the gravitational force of attraction between the masses, ${m_1}$ and ${m_2}$ are the masses and $r$ is the distance between the masses.
Therefore, we can write:
${F_G} = G \cdot {{{m_1}{m_2}}}{{{r^2}}}$ where, G is the proportional constant, known as the gravitational constant. Its value is given as $G = 6.674 \times {10^{ - 11}}$ and its units is derived as ${m^3}k{g^{ - 1}}{s^{ - 2}}$.
Option B is correct.

Note: Students should be aware of using the value of constants with the units associated with it. The value of the gravitational constant changes with the units associated.
Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer who proposed a heliocentric system.
Galileo was an astronomer who proposed the telescopic confirmation of Venus.
Archimedes gave the law of Archimedes principle (force of buoyancy).