Chapter 13

Gravitation
Conceptual In Class Assignment
Problems (To Problems Problems
Topic
be Discussed
in Class)

13.1 Newton’s law of Gravitation, TYU-13.1 Example- Exercise

13.2 Weight, TYU-13.3 13.8, 13.11,
13.3 Gravitational Potential Energy 13.16,
TYU-13.4
13.4 Motion of Satellites, 13.29
TYU-13.5
13.5 Kepler’s laws and Motion of Planets

Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

Associate Professor
Department of Physics, ITER,
Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University
rajanikantaparida@soa.ac.in
Chapter 13 Gravitation Lecture Note by: Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

Newton’s law of gravitation:

Every particle of matter attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the
product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The gravitational force can be expressed mathematically as
m1 m 2
Fg = G where G = gravitational constant
r2
G = 6.674 x 10-11 N.m2 .kg-2
The presently accepted value is G was measured by Henry Cavendish in 1798 using torsion balance.
According to Newton’s law of gravitation, we have,
Even if the particles have different masses, the gravitational forces they exert on each other are equal
in strength:
F12 = gravitational force on 2nd body due to 1st body.
F21 = gravitational force on 1st body due to 2nd body.
F12 = F21
=> F = constant, => ma = constant
1
=> a α
m
Thus larger mass has less acceleration and vice versa. Therefore we are accelerated towards the
earth, but the earth does not accelerate towards us.
Weight:

The weight of a body is the total gravitational force exerted on it by all other bodies in the universe.
At the surface of the earth, we can neglect all other gravitational forces, so a body’s weight is
G mE m
w = Fg = Where, mE = mass of the earth, m = mass of the body,
R 2E
RE = radius of the earth
If g = acceleration of the body near the surface of the earth, then weight is given by
w=mg
G mE m G mE
 =mg  g=
R 2E R 2E
Thus ‘g’ varies with RE on the surface of the earth.
Polar radius of earth is minimum, so ‘g’ is maximum at pole
Equatorial radius of earth is maximum, so ‘g’ is minimum at equator.

Gravitational potential energy:

Gravitational potential energy is the amount of work done by taking the body from infinity against
the gravitational force of attraction. So

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Chapter 13 Gravitation Lecture Note by: Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

r
 -1
r r r
G mE m dr
Wgrav =  Fr dr =  dr  Wgrav = G mE m   G mE m  
 r 
2
 
r2 
r
G mE m  G mE m  G mE m
 U= - - -   U= -
r    r
The gravitational potential energy of the earth-astronaut system is
given by
G mE m , m= mass of the astronaut
U= -
rE
The gravitational potential energy increases as the astronaut moves
away from the earth, because as ‘r’ increases gravitational force
does negative work and ‘U’ increases (becomes less negative)

The gravitational potential energy decreases as the body ‘falls’

towards earth, because as ‘r’ decreases gravitational force does positive work and ‘U’

The motion of satellites

For a circular orbit, the speed of a satellite is just

right to keep its distance from the center of the
earth constant. (See Figure)

The gravitational force provides the required

centripetal force to the satellite
G mE m mv 2
=
r2 r
G mE
Thus, v =
r
The period of revolution of satellite is
3
2πr r 2πr 2
T= 2πr 
V G mE G mE
Total mechanical energy of the satellite is
1 G mE m
E = K + U = m v2 -
2 r
1  G mE  G mE m
E= m  -
2  r  r
G mE m
E= -
2r
A satellite is constantly falling around the earth. Astronauts inside the satellite in orbit are in a state
of apparent weightlessness because they are falling with the satellite.

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Chapter 13 Gravitation Lecture Note by: Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

Kepler’s laws and planetary motion:

Law 1: The Law of Orbits:

Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit with the sun at one focus.
x2 y2
+ = 1, is the equation of an ellipse.
a2 b2
Law 2:The Law of Areas:

A line from the sun to a given planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times (see Figure at the right).
dA = Area swept by the line joining a planet and the sun in time dt
1 1 1
dA =  base x height   r  r dθ   r 2 dθ
2 2 2
dA 1 2 dθ dA
 = r where, is called the sector velocity
dt 2 dt dt
dA 1 2 dθ
 = r ω where,  ω, angular velocity
dt 2 dt
dA 1 v 1
 = r 2 = r v where, v  r ω
dt 2 r 2
dA 1 1 L
 = r  mv  = rp=
dt 2m 2m 2m
where, L  r p, angular momentum
dA L
 =
dt 2m
According to Kepler’s 2nd law
 dA  L
Sector velocity   = constant  = constant  L = constant
 dt  2m
 Angular Momntum = constant
Therefore, when planets revolve around the sun their angular momentum remains constant.

Law 3:The Law of Periods:

The square of the time period of any planet about the Sun is proportional to the cube of the semi-
major axis of its orbit.

 4 π2  3
T2 =  a  T2 α a3
 G mS 
T = Time period of the planet about the Sun
a = semi-major axis of the orbit

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Chapter 13 Gravitation Lecture Note by: Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

Test Your Understanding: 13.1, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5

Test Your Understanding of Section 13.1

The planet Saturn has about 100 times the mass of the earth and is about 10 times farther from the
sun than the earth is. Compared to the acceleration of the earth caused by the sun’s gravitational pull,
how great is the acceleration of Saturn due to the sun’s gravitation?
(i) 100 times greater; (ii) 10 times greater;
(iii) the same; (iv) 1/10 as great; (v) 1/100 as great
Answer: (v)
The gravitational force of the sun mass m1 on a planet mass m2 a distance r away has magnitude
m1 m 2
Fg = G
r2
Compared to the earth, Saturn has a value r 2 of that is 102 = 100 times greater and a value of m2 that
is also 100 times greater.
Hence the force that the sun exerts on Saturn has the same magnitude as the force that the sun exerts
on earth. The acceleration of a planet equals the net force divided by the planet’s mass: Since Saturn
has 100 times more mass than the earth; its acceleration is 1/100 as great as that of the earth.
Test Your Understanding of Section 13.3
Is it possible for a planet to have the same surface gravity as the earth (that is, the same value of g at
the surface) and yet have a greater escape speed?
Answer: Yes
This is possible because surface gravity and escape speed depend in different ways on the planet’s
mass mp and radius Rp.
The value of g at the surface is G mp/Rp2 while the escape speed is √(2GmP/RP)
For the planet Saturn, for example, is about 100 times the earth’s mass and R p is about 10 times the
earth’s radius. The value of g is different than on earth by a factor of 1 (i.e., it is the same as on
earth), while the escape speed is greater by a factor of 3.2

Test Your Understanding of Section 13.4

Your personal spacecraft is in a low-altitude circular orbit around the earth. Air resistance from the
outer regions of the atmosphere does negative work on the spacecraft, causing the orbital radius to
decrease slightly. Does the speed of the spacecraft (i) remain the same, (ii) increase, or (iii)
decrease?
Answer: (ii)
Equation (13.10) shows that in a smaller radius orbit, the spacecraft has a faster speed. The negative
work done by air resistance decreases the total mechanical energy E = K + U; the kinetic energy K
increases (becomes more positive), but the gravitational potential energy U decreases (becomes
more negative) by a greater amount

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Chapter 13 Gravitation Lecture Note by: Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

Test Your Understanding of Section 13.5

The orbit of Comet X has a semi-major axis that is four times longer than the semi-major axis of
Comet Y. What is the ratio of the orbital period of X to the orbital period of Y?
(i) 2; (ii) 4; (iii) 8; (iv) 16; (v) 32; (vi) 64.
Answer: (iii)
We know that,
T2 is proportional to a3/2. Where, T = time period, a = semi-major axis.
Hence the orbital period of Comet X is longer than that of Comet Y by a factor of 4 3/2 = 8.
Example 13.8 Kepler’s third law
The asteroid Pallas has an orbital period of 4.62 years and an orbital eccentricity of
0.233. Find the semi-major axis of its orbit.
Solution
This problem is based on Kepler’s third law, which relates the period ‘T’ and the
semi-major axis ‘a’ for an orbiting object (such as an asteroid).
From Appendix we have ms= 1.99 x 1030 kg,
From Appendix we have T = (4.62 yr) (3.156 x 107 s/yr) = 1.46 x 108 s
We don’t need the value of the eccentricity.
1
 4 π2  3  G mST 2  3
2
T =  a  a=    4.15 x 1011m
 4π 
2
 G mS 

Exercise Problem: 13.11, 13.16, 13.29

Exercise -13.11:
At what distance above the surface of the earth is 0.98 m/s2 the acceleration due to the earth’s gravity
if the acceleration due to gravity at the surface has magnitude 9.80 m/s2 ?
Solution:
RE = 6.38×106 m = radius of the earth.
And r = h + RE
Where h = distance of the object above the surface of the earth
G mE
Acceleration due to gravity on the surface = g =
R 2E
G mE
Acceleration due to gravity at a height ‘h’ = g =
 R E +h 
2

Now,
G mE
 R E +h 
2 2 2
g R 2E  RE + h   h 
=      1+ 
g G mE R 2E  RE   RE 
 R E +h 
2

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Chapter 13 Gravitation Lecture Note by: Dr. Rajanikanta Parida

g h g h  g 
= 1+  -1=  h = R E  -1 
g RE g RE  g 
 9.8 

 h = 6.38 × 106 m   -1 
 0.98 

 h = 6.38 × 106 m  
10 - 1 1.38 107 m
 h = 1.38 107 m
ay is directed downward midway between A and B

Exercise-13.16
Estimate the gravitational potential energy of the earth with respect to the sun. (Given: M sun=1.99 x
1030 kg, Mearth =5.98 x 1024 kg, mean distance between the sun and the earth = 1.50 x 10 6 km)
Solution:

Msun=1.99 x 1030 kg
Mearth =5.98 x 1024 kg
r = mean distance between the sun and the earth = 1.50 x 10 6 km = 1.50 x 109 m
The gravitational potential energy of the earth-sun system is given by

U= -
G MSun M Earth
= -
 
6.674 x 10-11 N.m 2 .kg -2 1.99 x 1030 kg 5.98 x 10 24 kg 
= - 5.2916 x 1036 Joule
r 1.50 x 109 m
Exercise-13.29
The star Rho1 Cancri is 57 light-years from the earth and has a mass 0.85 times that of our sun. A
planet has been detected in a circular orbit around Rho1 Cancri with an orbital radius equal to 0.11
times the radius of the earth’s orbit around the sun. What are
(a) the orbital speed the planet of Rho 1 Cancri?
(b) the orbital period of the planet of Rho 1 Cancri?
Solution:

Msun=1.99 x 1030 kg MRho= 0.85 x (1.99 x 1030 kg)

rE = orbital radius of the earth = 1.50 x 106 km
rRho = orbital radius of the Rho = 0.11 x (1.50 x 106 km)

(a) v =
G MR
=
 6.674 x 10 -11
N.m2 .kg-2  0.85 x 1.99 x 10 30
kg   8.27 m/s
r 0.11 x 1.50 x 10 km  6

(b) The orbital period of revolution of planet is

T=
6
2 π r 2 x 3014 x 0.11 x 1.50 x 10 km

 
 1.25 x 106s = 14.5 days (about two weeks)
V 8.27 m/s

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