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A hollow spherical shell of uniform mass distribution is slowly reduced in size while preserving its spherical form. What happens to the gravitational potential at its centre?

1. It increases
2. It decreases
3. It stays unchanged
4. It cannot be determined

Correct answer: It decreases

Solution

As the hollow spherical shell shrinks, the mass remains constant but the distance from the center to the shell decreases, leading to a decrease in gravitational potential at the center because gravitational potential is inversely related to the distance from the mass.

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