The gravitational potential (often denoted as V or φ) due to a single point mass m (such as a molecule treated as a point mass) at a distance r from it is given by: V = - \(\frac{\text{G m}}{\text{r}}\) Where: G is the gravitational constant, m is the mass of the molecule, r is the distance from the center of the molecule to the point where the potential is being evaluated. The negative sign is conventional: gravitational potential is zero at infinity and becomes more negative (lower) as you get closer to the mass.