What is the formula used to calculate the force of gravity between two masses?

The formula for calculating the force of gravity between two masses is represented as ( F = \frac{G m_1 m_2}{d^2} ). Here, ( F ) stands for the gravitational force, ( G ) is the universal gravitational constant, ( m_1 ) and ( m_2 ) are the masses of the two objects, and ( d ) is the distance between the centers of the two masses.

This formula is derived from Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that every mass attracts every other mass with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. It highlights how gravity is not just a property of a single mass, but rather an interaction between two masses that depends on both mass size and separation distance.

The other formulas presented do not pertain to the force of gravity between two separate masses. For example, ( F = ma ) refers to Newton's second law of motion, indicating the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. The formula ( F = \frac{mv^2}{r} ) is associated with the centripetal force required to keep an object