Three identical point masses are placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle of side

PHYSICS · Single correct · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

Three identical point masses

m

are placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle of side

a

. What is the gravitational potential energy of this system? (a)

-\dfrac{G m^{2}}{a}

(b)

\dfrac{3 G m^{2}}{a}

(c)

-\dfrac{3 G m^{2}}{a}

(d)

-\dfrac{3 G m^{2}}{2 a}