A2 Physics Assignment 2 Gravitational Fields

Write name in top right corner. Staple pages together in top left corner. Pages should be ruled down the centre with a 1 cm wide column. All numerical answers should be underlined in red. Data: G = 6.67 x 10-11 N m2 kg-2 Msun = 1.98 x 1030 kg Mearth = 5.98 x 1024 kg Mmoon = 7.34 x 1022 kg 1.

rsun = 6.95 x 108 m rearth = 6.38 x 106 m rmoon = 1.74 x 106 m

A man of mass 80 kg travels from the South Island of New Zealand, where the Earths gravitational field is 9.81 N kg-1, to a place on the equator where he is in a gravitational field of 9.78 N kg-1. Find the change in the force of gravity acting on him.

2.

A bucket of water with a total mass of 20 kg is raised from a well by means of a vertical rope. During the first part of the rise the bucket has an upward acceleration of 0.200 m s-2. During this initial accelerating period, (a) what is the net force acting on the bucket of water? (b) what is the force exerted by the rope on the bucket of water?

3.

Bodies of mass 500 g and 200 g respectively are connected together by a light string which passes over a frictionless pulley, as shown in Fig.1. Find:

(a) (b)

the magnitude of the acceleration of the bodies; the tensile force in the string.

4.

Using Newtons law of gravitation, determine the weight of an 80 kg man on the surface of (a) the Earth; (b) the Moon.

5.

If a body of mass m were released in a vacuum just above the surface of a planet of mass M and radius R, what would be its gravitational acceleration?

GmM R

GmM R2

Gm R

GM R

GM R2

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6.

Two stars of equal mass M move with constant speed v in a circular orbit of radius R about their common centre of mass as shown in Fig.3.

What is the net force on each star? A C GM2/4R2 zero B D Mv 2/2R 2Mv2/R E GM2/R2

7.

Why does the Moon stay in its orbit at a constant distance from the Earth? A B C D E The gravitational pull of the Earth on the Moon is just sufficient to cause the centripetal acceleration of the Moon. The gravitational pull of the Earth on the Moon balances the gravitational pull of the Moon on the Earth. The gravitational pull of the Moon on the Earth is negligible at this distance. The centripetal force the Earth exerts on the Moon balances the centripetal force the Moon exerts on the Earth. The centripetal force the Earth exerts on the Moon balances the gravitational force the Earth exerts on the Moon.

8.

At what speed must a satellite be travelling so that it shall remain in a circular orbit 1600 km above the Earths surface?

9.

A satellite is orbiting the Earth in a stable circular orbit of which the radius is twice that of the Earth. Find the ratio of the satellites centripetal acceleration to the acceleration of gravity on the Earths surface.

10. A satellite circles the Earth once every 98 minutes at a mean altitude of 500 km. Calculate the mass of the Earth. The masses of planets are actually calculated from satellite motions, and one reason for establishing artificial Earth satellites is to get a better value for the mass of the Earth.

11. How much less does a man with mass of 100 kg apparently weigh at the equator than at the poles because of the rotation of the Earth?

12. A communications satellite, which takes 24 hours to orbit the Earth, is replaced by a new satellite, which has twice the mass of the old one. The new satellite also has an orbit time of radius of orbit of new satellite 24 hours. What is the value of ? radius of orbit of old satellite A

1 2

2 1

2 1

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13. Which statement about geostationary orbits is false? A B C D A geostationary orbit must be directly above the equator. All satellites in a geostationary orbit must have the same mass. The period of a geostationary orbit must be 24 hours. There is only one possible radius for a geostationary orbit.

14. What are the gravitational potentials at a point on the Earths surface due to (a) the Earth, (b) the Sun? (Radius of the Earths orbit = 1.5 x 1011 m). 15. (a) Use Newtons law of gravitation to calculate the gravitational force acting on a 1.00 kg mass on the surface of the Earth. Assume that the Earth acts as a point mass. (b) State the value of the Earths gravitational field strength at its surface. (c) What is meant by the gravitational potential at a point in a gravitational field? (d) Calculate the difference in the gravitational potential between the surface of the Earth and a point 800 m above the surface. 16. A planet has a mass of 5.0 x 1024 kg and a radius of 6.1 x 106 m. The energy needed to lift a mass of 2.0 kg from its surface into outer space is: A 9.0 J B 1.8 x 101 J C 5.5 x 107 J D 1.1 x 108 J E 2.2 x 108 J

17. Which one of the following graphs best indicates the relationship between , the change in gravitational potential of the hull of a spacecraft, and x, its height above the surface of the Earth, during the first few hundred metres after launch?

18. X and Y are two points at respective distances R and 2R from the centre of the Earth, where R is greater than the radius of the Earth. The gravitational potential at X is 800 kJ kg-1. When a 1 kg mass is taken from X to Y, the work done on the mass is: A -400 kJ B -200 kJ C +200 kJ
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D +400 kJ

E +800 kJ

19. A satellite of mass m is in a circular orbit of radius r about the Earth, mass M, and remains at a vertical height h above the Earths surface. Taking the zero of the gravitational potential to be at an infinite distance from the earth, what is the gravitational potential energy of the satellite? A mgh B -mgh C

GMm r

-GMm 2r

GMm 2r

Answers to the following two questions should be written on this paper. These questions should be stapled to the rest of your assignment answers

20. The diagram (not to scale) shows a satellite of mass ms in circular orbit at speed vs around the Earth, mass ME. The satellite is at a height h above the Earths surface and the radius of the Earth is RE. (a) Using the symbols above write down an expression for the centripetal force needed to maintain the satellite in this orbit.

Fig. 4.

(b) (i)

Write down an expression for the gravitational field strength in the region of the satellite.

(ii) State an appropriate unit for this quantity.

(c) Use your two expressions to show that the greater the height of the satellite above the Earth, the smaller will be its orbital speed.

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(d) Explain why, if a satellite slows down in its orbit, it nevertheless gradually spirals in towards the Earths surface. ... ... ... ... 21. A binary star is a pair of stars which move in circular orbits around their common centre of mass. For stars of equal mass, they move in the same circular orbit, shown by the dotted line in Fig. 5. In this question, consider the stars to be point masses situated at their centres at opposite ends of a diameter of the orbit.

Fig. 5.

(a) (i)

Draw on Fig. 5 arrows to represent the force acting on each star.

(ii) Explain why the stars must be diametrically opposite to travel in the circular orbit. (b) Newtons law of gravitation applied to the situation of Fig 5 may be expressed as

F=

GM 2 4R 2

State what each of the four symbols listed below represents. F .... G .... M .... R ....
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(c) (i)

Show that the orbital period T of each star is related to its speed v by v = 2R/T.

(ii) Show that the magnitude of the centripetal force required to keep each star moving in its circular path is

F=

4! 2MR T2

(iii) Use equations from (b) and (c)(ii) to show that the mass of each star is given by

M = 16! 2

R3 GT 2

(d) Binary stars separated by a distance of 1 x 1011 m have been observed with an orbital period of 100 days. Calculate the mass of each star. 1 day = 86 400 s

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