MODULE 3 (2020-21)

Class:IX Subject: PHYSICS

Chapter: 10 Topic: Gravitation, Archimedes Principle & Buoyancy.

Introduction: We know that all the planets go around the Sun. The moon goes around the
earth. In all these cases, there must be some force acting on the objects, the planets and on the
moon. Sir Isaac Newton could grasp that the same force is responsible for all these. This force is
called the gravitational force .In this chapter we shall learn about gravitation and the
universal law of objects under the influence of gravitational force on the earth. We shall study
how the weight of a body varies from place to place we shall also discuss the conditions for
objects to float in liquids.

GRAVITATION
It is said that when Newton was sitting under a tree, an apple fell on him. The fall of the apple
made Newton start thinking .He thought that: if the earth can attract an apple, can it not attract the
moon? Is the force the same in both cases? He conjectured that the same type of force is
responsible in both
the cases. He argued that at each point of its orbit, the moon falls towards the earth, instead of
going off in a straight line. So, it must be attracted by the earth. But we do not really see the moon
falling towards the earth. Instead of going off in a straight line. So, it must be attracted by the
earth.

NEWTON’S UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITATION: Every object in the Universe

attracts every other object with a force which is
(i) Directly proportional to the product of their masses, and is given by F  m1m2
(ii) Inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centres. The direction of the
force
is along the line joining the centres of two objects and is given 1
F
by,
r2
m1m2
Combining (i) & (ii) we get F  G , where G is a constant of proportionality & is known
2
r
as the Universal gravitational constant. Its value is G= 6.67x10-11 Nm2/kg 2 .

KEPLER’S LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION:

KEPLER’S FIRST LAW: Every planet revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, with the
sun situated at any one of the foci of the ellipse.
KEPLER’S SECOND LAW: In the elliptical orbit of the planet, the line joining the centre of the
planet to the centre of the Sun sweeps equal intervals of time.
KEPLER’S THIRD LAW: The Square of time period of revolution of a planet around the Sun is
directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit T 2  r3 .
Where r = radius of orbit = mean distance of planet from the Sun in metres ,T = the time period
of revolution of planet around the Sun (in second)
IMPORTANCE OF THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITATION:
The universal law of gravitation successfully explained several phenomena which were believed
to be unconnected;
(i) the force that binds us to the earth (ii) the motion of the moon around the earth) (iii) the
motion of planets around the Sun; and (iv) the tides due to the moon and the Sun..
FREE FALL: When an object falls from any height under the influence of gravitational force
only, it is known as free fall. In the case of free fall no change of direction takes place but the
magnitude of velocity changes because of acceleration. This acceleration acts because of the force
of gravitation and is denoted by ‘g’. This is called acceleration due to gravity.

EXPRESSION FOR ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITATION ‘g’:

Let mass of the object put under free fall = m
And acceleration due to gravity = g
Therefore, according to Newton’s Second Law of Motion which states that Force is the
product of mass and acceleration F = m x g-------(i)
Now, according to Universal Law of GM
FG mg= mg  g
gravitation m1m2 GmM
R2
r2 R2
Where M is the mass of the earth and m is the mass of the object.
Thus, from above two expressions, we get where, g is acceleration due to gravity G is the
Universal Gravitational Constant. M is the mass of earth and R is the distance between object and
centre of earth.( radius of earth ).

WHEN OBJECT IS NEAR THE SURFACE OF EARTH: When an object is near the surface
of earth, the distance between object and centre of the earth will be equal to the radius of earth
because the distance of object is negligible in comparison of the radius of earth. Let the radius of
earth is equal to R. Therefore, after substituting ‘R’ at the place of ‘d’ we get,

GM
………………………………………(iv)
2
R
Since, earth is not a perfect sphere rather it has oblique shape. Therefore, radius at the equator is
greater than at the poles. Since, value of ‘g’ is reciprocal of the square of radius of earth, thus, the
value of ‘g’ will be greater at the poles and less at the equator. And the value of ‘g’ will decrease
with increase of distance of object from earth. Calculation of value of ‘g’
We know that
The accepted value of G is 6.673 x 1011 Nm2 / km2.
The mass of earth, M = 6 x 1024 Kg
The radius of earth, R = 6.4 x 106 m
GM
Therefore, by using expression, g , the value of ‘g’ can be calculated. Therefore, after
R2
substituting the11value of 24G, M and R in the expression for ‘g’ we get.
6.67310  610 
g  9.8ms 2

6.4106

Since, the value of ‘g’ does not depend upon the mass or distance of an object, therefore, all
objects fall over the earth with the same rate. The equations for motion are as follows:

v = u + at...............(i)
1 ...............
s  ut  gt 2 (v)
2
v2  u2  2gs................(vi)

In the calculation; initial velocity (u), final velocity (v), time taken (t), or distance covered (s)the
value of ‘g’ is taken as positive in the case of object moving towards earth and taken as negative in
the case of object is thrown in opposite direction of earth.
MASS: Mass is the measurement of inertia and inertia is the property of any object which
opposes the change in state of the object. It is inertia because of which an object in rest has
tendency to remain in rest and an object in motion has tendency to remain in motion. Inertia
depends upon the mass of an object. Object having greater mass has greater inertia and vice versa.
Mass of an object remains constant everywhere, i.e. mass will remain same whether that object is
at the moon, at the earth or anywhere in the universe.
WEIGHT: Earth attracts every object towards it. We know that force is the product of mass and
acceleration due to gravity.
This means, F = m x g-----------------------(i)
The force by which earth attracts an object towards it is called the weight of the object, which is
the product of mass (m) of the object and acceleration due to gravity (g). Weight is denoted by
‘W’. Therefore, by substituting in the expression ‘F = mg’ we get,
W=mxg (ii)
Since weight is the force which is acting vertically downwards, therefore, weight has both
magnitude and direction and hence it is a vector quantity. Since the value of ‘g’ is always constant
at a given place, Therefore, expression ‘W = m x g’ can be written as follows:
W α m….......................(iii)
This means weight of any object is directly proportional to its mass, i.e. weight will increase with
the increase of mass and decrease with decrease in mass. This is the cause that weight of any
object is the measure of its mass. The unit of weight. Since, weight of an object is equal to the
force by which an object is attracted towards earth, therefore, unit of weight is same as the unit of
force. Therefore, Unit of weight is ‘newton (N)’.
WEIGHT OF AN OBJECT ON THE SURFACE OF MOON: Let M be the mass
E

of the Earth and m be an object on the surface of the Earth. Let RE be the radius of the Earth.
According to the universal law of gravitation, weight the surface of the Earth is given by,
WE

WE GM E m
2

RE
Le M M and RM be the mass and radius of the moon. Then, according to the universal law of
t
gravitation, weight of the object on the surface of the moon is given by:
WM
GM M m
2
W RM
W GM m  M
M M RE 2
M M 2

2
WE GME m M E RM
2

RM RE

Where M 5.981024 7.361022 kg

E
kgM M

RE 6.4106 mRM 1.74 106 m

W M 7.341022 (6.4106 )2 1
0.165 
WE 5.981024  (1.74106 )2 6

Therefore, the weight of an object on the

moon
1 its weight on the earth.
th

THRUST AND PRESSURE: Force acting normally on a surface is called the thrust i.e.
the force that acts on an object perpendicular to its surface is the thrust, measured in newton in the
SI system. When you stand on loose sand, the force, that is, the weight of your body is acting on
an area equal to area of your feet. When you lie down, the same force acts on an area equal to the
contact area of your whole body, which is larger than the area of your feet. Thus, the effects of
forces of the same magnitude on different areas are different. In the above cases, thrust is the
same. But effects are different. Therefore the effect of thrust depends on the area on which it
acts. The effect of thrust on sand is larger while standing than while lying. The thrust acting on
unit area of the surface is called the pressure If a thrust F acts on an area A, then Thus, the same
force acting on a smaller area exerts a larger pressure, and a smaller pressure on a larger area. This
is the reason why a nail has a pointed tip, knives have sharp edges and buildings have wide
foundations. The SI unit of pressure is called Pascal (Pa). If a thrust F acts on an area A, then P
F
 N/m2 .
A
Other units of pressure are bar and millibar(m bar = where 1 bar = 105 N/m2
1 millibar = 102N/m2 1 atmospheric pressure (1 atm) = 101.3 k Pa 1.013x 10 5 Pa.
PRESSURE IN FLUIDS: Those substances, which can flow easily, are called fluids. All
liquids and gases are fluids. A solid exerts pressure on a surface due to its weight.
Similarly, fluids have weight, and they also exert pressure on the base and walls of the
container in which they are enclosed. Pressure exerted in any confined mass of fluid is
transmitted undiminished in all directions. In other words, a fluid (liquid or gas) exerts
pressure in all directions – even upwards.

BUOYANCY: When a body floats or immerses in a liquid, the pressure on the bottom surface
is more than that the pressure on the top surface. Due to the difference in pressure, an upward
force acts on the body. This upward force is called upthrust or buoyant force. The buoyant force is
equal to the weight of the liquid displaced the buoyant force (upthrust) acts through the centre of
gravity of the displaced liquid which is Known as centre of buoyancy. Due to the up thrust exerted
on the body by the liquid, the For example, when we immerse a mug into a bucket of water, the
mug filled with water appears to be lighter as long as it is under water. But when it is lifted up out
of the water we feel that the mug is heavier. This shows that the weight of the body under water is
less than it’s weight when it is above the surface of water.

WHY OBJECTS FLOAT OR SINK WHEN PLACED ON THE SURFACE OF:

If the density of the material of the body is less than that of density of water, it floats and in
case if the density of the material of the body is more than that of density of water, it sinks. The
cork floats while the nail sinks. This is because of the difference in their densities. The
density of cork is lesser than the density of water. This means that the upthrust of water on the
cork is greater than the weight of the cork. So it floats. The density of the iron nail is more than
the density of the water. This means that the upthrust of water on the iron is lesser than the weight
of the nail. So it sinks.

Therefore objects of density less than that of a liquid float on the liquid. The objects of density
greater than that of a liquid sink in the liquid.

ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE: When a body is immersed fully or partially in fluid (liquid

or gas) it experiences an apparent loss of weight which is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced. The apparent loss in weight of the body is equal to the up thrust on the body.
POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED: When a body is immersed either partially or fully in a
liquid, it experiences and upthrust or buoyant force (F ). This upthrust (F ) is equal to the weight
(W) of the liquid displaced by the body i.e FB  w  V where V is the volume of the liquid
g
displaced  is the density of the liquid Buoyant Force (F ) depends upon : (a) Volume of the liquid
displaced and (b) density of the liquid.
 Apparent weight of a body in a liquid = true weight of the body (W) – weight (W)
 Apparent weight of a body in a liquid = true weight of the body (W) – weight (W)
= Loss in weight when a body is immersed in a liquid = F
 Archimedes’ principle has many applications. It is used in designing ships and
submarines Lactometers, which are used to determine the purity of a sample of milk and
hydrometers Used for determining density of liquids, are based on this principle.
A ship made up of iron floats in water. This is because the ship is hollow and contains air
The large space inside the ship enables it to displace a volume of water much greater than
the actual volume of iron that was used in the construction. So the weight of water is placed
is greater than the weight of the ship.
A body which floats in a liquid is in equilibrium under the action of the two forces. (a) It’s
weight acting vertically downwards and (b)the resultant thrust on it due to the liquid acting
upwards. These two forces must be equal and opposite. The resultant up thrust may be equal to
gravity of the displaced liquid.

LAWS OF FLOATATION:  The weight of the floating body is equal to the weight of the
liquid displaced by it.
 The centre of gravity of the floating body and the centre of gravity of the liquid
displaced (centre of buoyancy) are in the same vertical line.

DENSITY: Density of a substance is defined as its mass per unit volume.

Density Mass
 Volume
The SI unit of density is kg/m3 .

RELATIVE DENSITY: Relative density of a substance is defined as the ratio of its density
to that of water at . 4 C0. Densityofsubs tan ce
Re lativedensity
 Densityofwaterat40 C
 Density of water at 4 0C = 1g/ 1 cm3 = 1kg/ m3. Since the relative density is a ratio of similar
quantities, it has no unit.

QUESTIONS FROM THE CHAPTER

Very Short Answer Type : (1 mark each )
1. What are the differences between the mass of an object and its weight?
2. Calculate the force of gravity acting on your friend of mass 60kg. Given mass of earth M=
6x1024 kg . Radius of earth R = 6.4x 10 6 m .
3. What is the source of centripetal force that a planet requires to revolve around the Sun? On what
factors does that force depend?
4. The earth is acted upon by gravitation of Sun, even though it does not fall into the Sun Why?
5. A body weighs more at poles than at the equator of earth. Why?

Short Answer Type :

1. The weight of any person on the moon is about 1/6 times that on the earth. He can lift a mass of
15 kg on the earth. What will be the maximum mass, which can be lifted by the same force
applied by the person on the moon?
2. A block weighing 1.0 kg is in the shape of a cube of length 10 cm. It is kept on a horizontal
table. Find the pressure on the portion of the table where the block is kept.
3. Relative density of silver is 10.8. The density of water is 1000 kg/m . What is the
density? of silver in SI?
4. In what direction does the buoyant force on an object immersed in a liquid act? An object
immersed in a liquid experiences buoyant force in the upward direction?
5. Why does an object float or sink when placed on the surface of water?

BRAIN STORMING QUESTIONS

1. How does the weight of an object vary with respect to mass and radius of the earth? In a
Hypothetical case, if the diameter of the earth becomes half of its present value and its mass
becomes four times of its present value, then how would the weight of any object on the
surface of the earth be affected?
2. A hydraulic automobile lift is designed to lift cars with a maximum mass of 3000 kg.
The Area of the piston carrying the load is 425 cm. What maximum pressure would the
smaller? Piston have to bear?
3. A ball thrown up vertically returns to the thrower after 6 s. (a) Find the velocity with which it
was thrown up,) (b) the maximum height it reaches, and (c) its position after 4 s .
4. A stone is allowed to fall from the top of a tower 100 m high and at the same time another stone
is projected vertically upwards from the ground with a velocity of 25 m/s. Calculate when and
where the two stones will meet.
5. A particle is thrown up vertically with a velocity of 50m/s. What will be its velocity at the highest
point of the journey? How high would the particle rise? What time would it take to reach the highest
point? Take g = 10 m/s2 .

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Two objects of different masses falling freely near the surface of moon would
(a) have same velocities at any instant (b) have different accelerations
(c) experience forces of same magnitude (d) undergo a change in their inertia
2. The gravitational force between two objects is F. If masses of both objects are halved without
changing distance between them, then the gravitational force would become;
(a) F/4 (b) F/2 (c) F (d) 2 F
3. The value of quantity G in the law of gravitation;
(a) depends on mass of earth only (b) depends on radius of earth only
(c) depends on both mass and radius of earth (d) is independent of mass and radius
of the earth
4. The earth attracts a body of mass 2 kg on its surface with a force of ;
(a) 9.8 N (b) 19.6 N (c) 6.67 x10-11 N (d) 2x 6.67 x10-11
N
4. The mass of a body on the surface of earth is 12 kg. If acceleration due to gravity on moon is
1/6th of acceleration due to gravity on earth, then its mass on moon will be;
(a) 2 kg (b) 72 kg (c) 12 kg (d) Zero.
5. The weight of an object at the centre of the earth of radius R is;
(a) Zero (b) infinite
(c) R times the weight at the surface of the earth (d) (d) 1/R times the weight at surface of
the earth.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:  Students will be able to

 Explain the applications of thrust and pressure
.  Understand the concept of flotation.
 Relate Archimedes’ principle with floating objects.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: The learners would be able to

 Solve numerical problems based on thrust and pressure.
 Calculate the density of a given solid.
 Understand if object will float or sink on the basis of relative density.
 Understand the meaning of work according to science.

EXPERIMENT/ ACTIVITY:  To determine density of solid (denser than water) by using

a spring balance and a measuring cylinder.
 To determine loss in the weight of body using Archimedes principle with a spring balance.

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