CHAPTER 7 GRAVITATION 1
prepared by Yew Sze Ling@Fiona, KML
Chapter 7 Gravitation
Remarks
Curriculum Specification
Before After Revision
7.1 Gravitational Force and Field Strength
a) State and use the Newton’s law of gravitation,
Mm
F G 2 . (C1, C2, C3, C4)
r
M
b) Define and use gravitational field strength, a g G
r2
(C1, C2, C3, C4)
7.2 Gravitational Potential Energy
a) Define gravitational potential energy. (C1, C2)
GMm
b) Use gravitational potential energy, U .
r
(C3, C4)
7.3 Satellite Motion in a Circular Orbit
2GM
a) Derive and use escape velocity, vesc 2 gR .
R
(C1, C2, C3, C4)
b) Derive and use equation for satellite motion:
GM
i. velocity, v .
r
r3
ii. period, T 2 .
GM
(C1, C2, C3, C4)
CHAPTER 7 GRAVITATION 2
prepared by Yew Sze Ling@Fiona, KML
7.1 Gravitational Force and Field Strength
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is proportional to
the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them. This force acts along the line joining the two particles.
m1 m2
F
r2
The magnitude of the gravitational force can be written as
Gm1 m2
F
r2
The symbol G denotes the universal gravitational constant, whose value is found experimentally
to be G = 6.674×10-11 N m2 kg-2.
Gravitational Field Strength
A force field is a region of space surrounding an object that can exert a force on other objects
that are placed within that region.
A mass M creates a gravitational force field in space around it. If a mass m is placed at some
point in space around the mass M, it will experience the existence of the field in the form of a
gravitational force.
For example, the gravitational force field surrounding Earth attracts all other objects (masses)
placed within its field.
The weight of an object (mass) on or above the earth is the gravitational force that the earth
exerts on the object.
Thus,
W Fg
GM E m
mg
r2
GM
g 2E
r
GM E
ag
r2
The gravitational field strength at a point is the force exerted per unit mass on a particle of small
mass placed at that point.
Fg
ag
m
It is a vector quantity whose direction is given by the direction of the force a mass would
experience if placed at the point of interest.
CHAPTER 7 GRAVITATION 3
prepared by Yew Sze Ling@Fiona, KML
7.2 Gravitational Potential Energy
Gravitational potential energy is the energy that an object
has by virtue of its position.
The expression defined earlier, U = mgh only applies for
problem near the surface of the earth where the gravitational
force is constant.
If the problem involves large distances, we can no longer
assume that the gravitational force is uniform.
When dealing with gravitational potential energy over large
distances, the zero point of gravitational potential energy is
placed at infinity. This makes all values of the gravitational
potential energy negative.
Gm1m2
Ug
r
That negative sign means as r increases, the gravitational
potential energy becomes less negative, up until a maximum
of zero when you are infinitely far away from the mass.
Additional Knowledge: Derivation
If we define U (∞) = 0, then the gravitational potential energy is the work done in moving a particle
from infinity to a distance r away from a gravitating object:
r
U g W Fdr
r Gm1m2
→ U g dr
r
Gm1m2
r
r
Gm1m2
r
7.3 Satellite Motion in a Circular Orbit
Escape Velocity
The escape velocity is the minimum speed that a projectile must have to escape a planet’s
gravitational pull.
CHAPTER 7 GRAVITATION 4
prepared by Yew Sze Ling@Fiona, KML
The principle of conservation of energy can be used to derive the equation of escape velocity:
On Earth Ki U i K f U f At infinity
Assuming an object is attempting to escape from a uniform spherical planet by moving away
from it and that the only significant force acting on the moving object is the planet's gravity, we
are looking for the initial speed that would keep the projectile moving away from the planet.
At infinity, the speed vf will be negligibly small and assumed to be 0, and the gravitational
potential energy Uf would be zero since r = ∞.
Ki Ui 0 GM E
1 2 GM E m g
mv 0 r2
2 RE
2GM E
v 2 gRE
RE
Satellite Motion
There is only one speed that a satellite can have if the satellite is to remain in an orbit with a
fixed radius. If the speed is too high, the satellite will not be confined by the Earth’s gravity and
will escape, never to return. If the speed is too low, it will return to Earth.
For a satellite in circular orbit around the earth, the gravitational force provides the centripetal
force.
FC Fg
mv 2 GM E m
r r2
GM E
v
r
The period T of a satellite is the time required for one orbital revolution.
Given
2r
v
T
Thus,
2r GM E
v
T r
r3
T 2
GM E
CHAPTER 7 GRAVITATION 5
prepared by Yew Sze Ling@Fiona, KML
Exercise
Gravitational Force and Field Strength
1. A 50 kg person and a 70 kg person are sitting on a bench close to each other. Estimate the
magnitude of the gravitational force each exerts on the other.
2. The drawing shows three particles far away from any other objects and located on a straight
line. The masses of these particles are mA = 363 kg, mB = 517 kg, and mC = 154 kg. Find the
magnitude and direction of the net gravitational force acting on
a) particle A
b) particle B
c) particle C
3. A spacecraft is on a journey to the moon. At what point, as measured from the center of the
earth, does the gravitational force exerted on the spacecraft by the earth balance that exerted
by the moon? This point lies on a line between the centers of the earth and the moon. The
distance between the earth and the moon is 3.85×108 m, and the mass of the earth is
81.4 times as great as that of the moon.
4. The weight of an object is the same on two different planets. The mass of planet A is only
sixty percent that of planet B. Find the ratio r A/rB of the radii of the planets.
5. Determine the effective value of the acceleration due to gravity of objects, ag on the top of
Mt. Everest, 8850 m above sea level. Ignore the mass of the mountain itself.
6. Determine the distance from the Earth’s center to a point outside the Earth where the
gravitational acceleration due to the Earth is 1/10 of its value at the Earth’s surface.
7. The International Space Station operates at an altitude of 350 km. Plans for the final
construction show that material of weight 4.22×106 N, measured at the Earth’s surface, will
have been lifted off the surface by various spacecraft during the construction process. What
is the weight of the space station when in orbit?
Gravitational Potential Energy
1. A satellite in Earth orbit has a mass of 100 kg and is at an altitude of 2.00×106 m.
a) What is the potential energy of the satellite-Earth system?
b) What is the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on the satellite?
2. How much energy is required to move a 1000 kg object from the Earth’s surface to an
altitude twice the Earth’s radius?
3. The Moon takes 27 days to go round the Earth in an orbit of radius 3.8×108 m. The mass of
the Earth is 6.0×1024 kg, and that of the Moon is 7.4×1022 kg. Calculate
a) the gravitational energy
b) the kinetic energy
c) the total energy
of the Moon in its orbit.
CHAPTER 7 GRAVITATION 6
prepared by Yew Sze Ling@Fiona, KML
Satellite Motion in a Circular Orbit
1. What velocity must a rocket be launched from the surface of the Earth so that it will not fall
back to the Earth?
2. Calculate the escape speed from the Earth for a 5 000 kg spacecraft and determine the kinetic
energy it must have at the Earth’s surface to move infinitely far away from the Earth.
3. Determine the speed of the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting at a height of 598 km above the
earth’s surface.
4. A satellite is in a circular orbit around an unknown planet. The satellite has a speed of
1.70×104 m s-1, and the radius of the orbit is 5.25×106 m. A second satellite also has a
circular orbit around this same planet. The orbit of this second satellite has a radius of
8.60×106 m. What is the orbital speed of the second satellite?
5 Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope deduced the presence of an extremely
massive core in the distant galaxy M87, so dense that it could be a black hole (from which no
light escapes). They did this by measuring the speed of gas clouds orbiting the core to be
780 km s-1 at a distance of 5.7×1017 m from the core. Deduce the mass of the core.
6. A satellite circles the earth in an orbit whose radius is twice the earth’s radius. The earth’s
mass is 5.98×1024 kg, and its radius is 6.38×106 m. What is the period of the satellite?
7. A satellite of mass 5500 kg orbits the Earth and has a period of 6600 s. Determine
a) the radius of its circular orbit
b) the magnitude of the Earth’s gravitational force on the satellite
c) the altitude of the satellite
8. A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 2.80×106 m. Find
a) the period of the orbit
b) the speed of the satellite
c) the acceleration of the satellite