GENERAL PHYSICS I:

1ST Semester, 2ND Quarter

Gravitation
Most Essential Learning Competencies
At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Use Newton’s law of gravitation to infer gravitational force, weight,

and acceleration due to gravity
2. Discuss the physical significance of gravitational field
3. Apply the concept of gravitational potential energy in physics
problems
4. Calculate quantities related to planetary or satellite motion
5. For circular orbits, relate Kepler’s third law of planetary motion to
Newton’s law of gravitation and centripetal acceleration
 Newton’s Law of Gravitation
• Newton published the Law of Gravitation in 1687.
• Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle
with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the
masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between them.

Fg = magnitude of gravitational force on either

particle
m1 and m2 = mass of the particles
r = distance between the two particles
G = gravitational constant
Law of Gravitation (1687)
The greater the particles’ masses the greater the gravitational force. The greater the
distance between these particles, in inverse proportion to the square of the distance
between them, the weaker the gravitational force.

The gravitational forces

between two particles of
masses m1 and m2.
 Determining the Value of G
Gravitational Constant (G)
• Sir Henry Cavendish determined the value of G in 1798 using a
torsion balance,
• The presently accepted value is G = 6.674281672 * 10^-11 N*/
▪ G = 6.67 x 10^-11 N ∙ /

Because 1 N = 1 kg ∙ m/, the units of G can also be expressed as / kg

∙
Q1. A wrench has a mass of 1.43 kg. It has
been left outside of a spaceship at a distance
of 1.61m from the center of a planet whose
mass is 5.98 kg. What is the gravitational
force on the wrench?
Q2. The mass m1 of one of the small spheres of a
Cavendish balance is 0.0100 kg, the mass m2 of
the nearest large sphere is 0.500 kg, and the
center-to-center distance between them is 0.0500
m. Find the gravitational force Fg on each sphere
due to the other.
Q3. Suppose the two spheres in Q2 are placed with
their centers 0.0500 m apart at a point in space far
removed from all other bodies. What is the
magnitude of the acceleration of each, relative to
an inertial system?
Q4. Two steel balls of masses 500kg and 50kg
respectively are placed with their centers 0.5m
apart. The two balls attract with a force of?
Q5. 9000 kilogram starship is pulled toward Planet X, a
6.2x10^33 kg behemoth with a radius of 65,000
kilometers. When the starship is 2500 kilometers from
the planet’s surface. What is the starship’s acceleration?

Round your answer to two significant digits.

Weight (W)
The weight of a body is the total gravitational force exerted on the body by all
other bodies in the universe.
The weight (w) of the small body of mass (m) above the earth’s surface is

(a distance from its center)

or
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html
Q6. A robotic lander with an earth weight of 3430 N is sent to
Mars, which has radius Rm = 3.40x10^6 m and mass mM =
6.42x10^23 kg. Find the weight Fg of the lander on the Martian
surface and the acceleration there due to gravity, g

Round your answer to two significant digits.

The Gravitational Field
A gravitational field is a force that exists in the space around every
mass or group of masses. This field extends out in all directions, but
the magnitude of the gravitational force decreases as the distance from
the object increases.

It is measured in units of force per mass, usually Newtons per

kilogram (N/kg)
The Gravitational Field
Gravitational field is defined as “equal to the universal gravitational
constant (G) times the object’s mass (M), divided by the square of the
distance from the object’s center (r). The direction is toward the mass’s
center.” In symbols,
𝐺𝑀
𝑔= 2
𝑟
Q7. The mass of the moon is 7.3x10^22 kg and its
radius is 1785km. What is strength of the gravitational
field on the surface of the Moon?
Q8. Calculate the gravitational field strength generated
by the Earth (M=5.97x10^24 kg) at
a) The Earth’s surface
b) 5000 km above the Earth’s surface (the radius of
the Earth is approximately 6378km)
Gravitational Potential Energy
Gravitational potential energy has been defined in a system consisting
of the Earth and an object of mass m near the Earth’s surface and height
of the object above or below some reference level. It is given by PE =
mgh. It is valid if the object is near the Earth’s surface. For objects high
above the Earth’s surface, an alternative must be used because “g varies
with distance from the surface” (Serway and Vuille 2012).

The gravitational potential energy associated with an object of mass m at

a distance r from the center of Earth is
U is always negative, but it becomes less negative with increasing radial
distance r.
Gravitational Potential Energy (U)
U = mgh or

where
m = mass of the object in kilograms
g = acceleration due to gravity at 9.8 m/s^2
= vertical displacement of the object in meters
= object’s change in gravitational potential energy in Joules
Gravitational Potential Energy
Where G – gravitational constant= 6.67x10^-11Nm^2/kg^2,
ME - mass of the earth= 5.98x10^24kg,
m - mass of object
where ME and RE are the mass and radius of the Earth,
respectively, with r > RE.
Q9. How much gravitational potential energy does
a 4.0 kg block has if it is lifted 25 m?
Q10. How much potential energy does a car gain if a
crane lifts the car with a mass of 1,500 kg and 20 m
straight up?
 50 m m= 8000 kg
8000km

rE

6.378x10^6 m

mE= 5.97x10^24kg
 Orbits
The Earth’s gravitational attraction is the only force acting on a satellite in
circular orbit around the Earth (Young, Freedman, and Ford 2012, 402–
36). The attraction is directed toward the center of the Earth and toward
the center of the orbit. Satellite is in uniform circular orbit and that it has a
constant speed.
 Orbits
The force due to the earth’s gravitational
attraction provides the centripetal
acceleration that keeps a satellite in orbit.
The satellite is in a circular orbit: Its
acceleration a is always perpendicular to its
velocity v, so its speed v is constant.
Solving for the speed of a satellite in circular orbit about Earth, v, we get,
Q11. You wish to put a 1000-kg satellite into a circular
orbit 300 km above the earth’s surface. What speed
and period will it have?
Q12. NASA is expected to send a 2600-kg satellite 450
km above the earth’s surface. (Hint: Earth’s mass is 5.97
x 10^24 kg)

(a) What is its radius?

(b) What speed will it have?
(c) Orbital period
Q13. A geosynchronous satellite is one that stays above
the same point on the equator of the Earth.

(a) What is the period of such a satellite is seconds?

(b) What is the satellite’s height above the surface of the
Earth in km?
(c) Calculate the speed of the satellite in m/s
Escape speed
Minimum speed the object must have at the Earth’s surface to
approach an infinite separation distance from the Earth

Where
M = mass of planet
R = radius of planet
Q14. Determine the escape velocity of the Jupiter if its
radius is 7149 km and mass is 1.898 ×10^27 kg.
Q15. Determine the escape velocity of the moon if mass
is 7.35 × 10^22 kg and the radius is 1.5 × 10^6 m.
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
- Johannes Kepler with the data of
Tycho Brahe
1. Law of Orbits
Planets move around the Sun in elliptical orbits.
An ellipse is a shape that resembles a flattened circle.

In descriptions of orbits in the solar

system, however, it is more
common to use the semi-major
axis to describe the size of the
orbit, and the eccentricity of the
ellipse to describe its shape. The
eccentricity is given by the ratio of
the distance between the two focus
points to the length of the major
axis of the ellipse.
How much the circle is flattened is
expressed by its eccentricity. Earth’s orbit has an eccentricity
of 0.0167, so it is very nearly a
perfect circle.
Eccentricity (e)
 Describes the shape of the ellipse
 For circle, e=0
 For an ellipse, 0<e<1 (the closer to
1, the longer and thinner the
ellipse)
 Eccentricity of earth = 0.0167
(nearly a perfect circle)

Where
c = distance from center to focus
a = length of semi-major axis
2. Law of Areas
The second law describes a line that connects a planet to the sun
and sweeps out equal areas in equal times. When a planet is near
the sun, it travels faster and sweeps through a longer path in a
given time.

In other words, Earth moves the fastest when it is closest to the

Sun.
Thus, suppose that it
takes the planet the same
amount of time to go
between positions C and
D as it did for the planet
to go between positions A
and B. Kepler's Second
Law then tells us that the
second cross hatched
area between C, D, and
the Sun will be the same
as the cross hatched area
between A, B, and the
Sun.
3. Law of Periods
the square of the period (T) of any planet is proportional to the
cube of the semi-major axis (a) of its orbit.

Where:
T- period (Years)
G- gravitational constant 2 3
M-mass (kg) 𝑀𝑇 =𝑎
a- size of orbit (AU)

1m= 6.68459e-12 Au
Phobos orbits Mars with an average distance of about 9380 km
from the center of the planet and a rotational period of about 7hr
39 mins. Use this information to estimate the mass of Mars.

Given: 420 mins +39 mins= 459 mins

a= 9380km=m = 27540 secs
T= 7 hrs and 39 mins = 27540 secs

Required:
Solution:
M=?

Equation:

Answer:
The Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of 1AU with a period of 1
year. Suppose a new asteroid is discovered which orbits the Sun
at a distance of 9AU. How long does it take this object to orbit the
Sun?
Given:
a1= 1 AU a2=9 AU
T1= 1 year T2=?
M (since a planet orbits the Sun)=1
Required:
Solution:
T2=?
Answer: 27
Equation: )=

𝑇 = √ 729