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Chapter 6 Gravitation
Including STPM
2013 2014 2015

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1. If the gravitational field strength at a certain area is uniform. which of the following
statements is true?
A No work is done when a mass is displaced in that area.
B The gravitational field strength is the same at all points in that area.
C The gravitational potential is the same at all points in that area.
D The gradient of the gravitational field strength is of the same magnitude as the gravitational
potential.

2. The accelerations due to gravity at the equator and at the pole are ge and gp respectively.
Which of the following statements about ge and gp is true?
A ge < gp, because the Earth rotates.
B ge > gp, because the Earth rotates.
C ge < gp, because the Earth rotates and it is not a perfect sphere.
D ge > gp, because the Earth rotates and it is not a perfect sphere.

3. The figure shows two stars X and Y of masses m1 and m2 respectively and separated by a
distance r.

Figure R6- 1

r
If the gravitational field strength at point P at distance 3 from X is zero, the ratio of m1 to m2 is
A 1:4 B 1 :2 C 2:1 D 4: 1

4. The figure shows an object in space moving near a planet of mass M. The shortest distance
between the object and the planet is r. The speed of the object at the nearest position is 1.5

, where G is the gravitational constant. Which figure shows the correct trajectory of the
object?

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Figure R6- 2

5. The figure shows three point masses each of mass in at the vertices of an equilateral triangle
with the length of each side equal to x.

Figure R6- 3

The potential energy of the system is

A B C D

6. The escape velocity from the surface of the Earth is 1.1 x 104 m s-1 that is the escape velocity
from a point at a height of 0.2R from the Earth's surface?
[R = radius of the Earth]

A 0.5 x 104 m s-1 B 1.0 X 104 m s-1 C 1.2 x 104 m s-1 D 1.3 x 104 m s-1

7 A spacecraft in Earth's gravitational field moves from points L to M. The gravitational potential
at L is -50 MJ kg-1 while that at M is -150 MJ kg-1. Which is true of the motion and the
gravitational potential energy of the spacecraft during the motion?
Motion Gravitational potential energy
A Approaching the Earth Increases
B Approaching the Earth Decreases
C Moving away from the Earth Increases
D Moving away from the Earth Decreases

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STPM 2013 P1/Q7

8 A satellite of mass 120 kg is orbiting the Earth in an orbit of radius 6600 km. The satellite is
then boosted into a higher orbit of radius 6900 km. What is the change in the gravitational
potential energy of the satellite?
[Mass of the Earth is 6.0 X 1024 kg.]
A A decrease of 1.58 X 108 J
B An increase of 1.58 X 108 J
C A decrease of 3.16 X 108 J
D An increase of 3.16 X 108 J
STPM 2012 P1/Q9
9 Two points P and Q at distances R and 2R respectively from the centre of the Earth are
shown in the diagram below.

Figure R6- 4

The gravitational potential at P is -8 kJ kg-1. if an object of mass 2 kg is moved from P to Q,

what is the change in gravitational potential energy of the object?
A -8 kJ B -4 kJ C +4 kJ D +8 kJ
STPM 2011 P1/Q9
10 Which graph shows the variation of the gravitational potential V above the Earth's surface
with the distance r from the Earth's centre?
[R is the Earth's radius.]

STPM 2010 P1/Q9

11 The mass of the Earth is 80 times the mass of the Moon. The distance of the Moon
from the Earth is 3.8 x 108 m. The distance of a satellite with resultant gravitational field
strength zero from the Earth is
A 1.90 x 108 m B 3.42 x 108 m C 3.75 x 108 m D 3.80 x 108 m
STPM 2014 P1 Q7

12 Which graph represents the variation of gravitational potential V with distance r from the
centre of the Earth for region r > R?
[R is the radius of the Earth.]

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STPM 2015 P1 Q7

STRUCTURED
Gravitational force
1 Two 16 kg shot spheres are held 2 m apart. What is the force attraction between them?

2 Calculate the force attraction between two 90 kg spheres of metal spaced so that their
centers are 40 cm

3 Compute the mass of the earth, assuming it to be a sphere of radius 6370 km.

4 The Moon has a mass of 7.4 x 1022 kg and a radius of 1.7 x 106 m. An astronaut of mass 96
kg is on the surface of the Moon. What is the gravitational force of the Moon on the astronaut?

5 Three bodies of equal mass m are fixed at the axes P, Q and R of an equilateral triangle as
shown in the diagram.

What is the direction of the resultant gravitational force on the mass at P?

6 Two masses m and 4m are separated by a distance r. The gravitational force on a mass M
positioned at a point P between the two masses is zero.

What is the distance of the point P from the mass m?

Gravitational Field Strength

1 (a) The radius of a planet is R and its mass is M. Write the expression that gives the
magnitude of the gravitational field strength on the Planet?
(G = universal gravitational constant).
(b) The planet Jupiter has a mass of 320 times the mass of the Earth, and its radius is 11 times
the radius of the Earth. What is the gravitational field strength on the surface of Jupiter?

2 (a) sketch the diagram that is shows correctly the gravitational field close to the surface of a
planet?

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(b) sketch the graph correctly shows the variation of gravitational field strength g with distance r
from the centre of the Earth? (R is the radius of the Earth)
(c) The radius of the Earth is R, and the gravitational field strength on its surface is g. Find, in
terms of R, the distance from the centre of the Earth where the gravitational field strength is

.
(Note: there are two possible values)

3Two equal masses m are separated by a distance of 3r. X and Y are points between the
masses.

Derive the expression for the gravitational field strength at

(i) X, state the direction of the field
(ii) Y, state the direction of the field

Gravitational Field Strength Latitude

1 The Earth, which has a mass M and radius R rotates about an axis with an angular velocity
.

(a) Show that the acceleration of free fall on the Earth's equator is , where g is the
acceleration due to gravity at the poles.
(b) A bullet is fired vertically with an initial speed of 300 m s-1. Find the maximum height
reached by the bullet if it is projected from the Earth's surface.
(i) at the N-pole, and
(ii) at the equator.
(The radius of the Earth, R = 6400 km and the angular velocity of the rotation of the Earth about
its axis is 1.0 revolution in 24 hours).

2 Determine the percentage change in the apparent weight of object when it is brought from the
north pole to the equator Assume that the Earth is a homogeneous sphere and the gravitational
field strength at the equator is 9.80 N kg-1.
(Radius of the Earth: 8.37 x 106 m)

Gravitational Potential

1 The work done by the gravitational pull of a planet to bring a mass of 50 kg from infinity to the
surface of the planet is 6.0 X 106 J. What is the gravitational potential on the surface of the
planet?

2 Given that the mass of the Earth = 6.02 x 1024 kg; the mass of the Sun = 1.99 x 1030 kg;
radius of the Earth = 6.400 x 106 m; radius of the Earth's orbit around the Sun = 1.50 x 1011 m.
Calculate the gravitational potential on the surface of
(a) the Earth due to the Earth only.
(b) the Earth due to the Sun only.

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3 The diagram shows an equipotential surface A (-6 x 106 J kg-1 ) in the gravitational field of a
planet. The surface A is a sphere with its centre at the centre of the planet. Two other
equipotential surfaces are B (-5 x 106 J kg-1) and C (-4 x 106 J kg-1 ).

(a) Explain the term equipotential surface.

(b) Explain the shape of the equipotential surface.
(c) Copy the diagram and sketch the equipotential surface B and C.
Draw arrows to represent the gravitational field g outside the planet.
(d) Calculate the work done to bring a mass of 50 kg from a point on the equipotential
surface A to a point on the equipotential surface C. Does the work done depend on the
path taken? Explain your answer.

Gravitational Potential Energy

1 Sketch the graph that shows the change in the gravitational potential energy U of an object
as it moves away from the Earth surface.

2 (a) A body of mass m is moved through a displacement of x in the direction of a uniform

gravitational field, E.

What is the change in the gravitational potential energy of the body?

(b) A mass m is moved from the surface of the Earth to a height h(h << R, radius of the
Earth).Show that the change in the gravitational potential energy of the mass is mgh, where g is
the acceleration of free fall.
(c) What is the work done in moving an object of mass 250 kg from the surface of the Earth to
a height 1600 km above the surface of the Earth? [Radius of the Earth = 6 400 km; gravitational
field strength on the surface of the Earth = 9.81 N kg-1]

3 Three masses m are fixed at the apexes of an equilateral triangle as shown it the diagram.

(a) What is the gravitational potential energy of the system?

(b) What is the work done to move one of the masses to infinity?
(c) What is the work done to move one of the two remaining masses to infinity?

4 The radius of the Earth is 6400 km and the acceleration of free fall on the Earth's surface is
9.81 m s-1. Assuming that air resistance is negligible, calculate
(i) the speeds of a meteor that originates from a long distance from Earth, and

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(ii) the speeds of a debris that fells of from a height of 2500 km when they hit the
surface of the Earth.

Satellite Motion

1 Two stars P and Q of mass 2m and m and separated by a distance d are in circular orbits
about their centre of mass. The radii of orbits are rP and rQ, and the periods of orbit TP and TQ.
Compare the radii and period of P and Q.

2 Two stars P and Q of mass 2m and m respectively which rotate about the mass point of a
system is shown in the diagram below.

What is the ratio of speed P to speed Q?

3 Two satellites X and Y of the Earth have masses m and 2m and orbits radii r and 2r
respectively as shown in the diagram.

The speeds of the satellites are vX and vy. State the relation between vX and vy .

4 The radius of a satellite of the Earth is r and its period is T. What is the relation between T
and r?

5 A geosynchronous satellite of mass m appears stationary relative to the Earth. M is the mass
of the Earth, and T the period of the rotation of the Earth about its axis. What is the radius of
the satellite's orbit?

Escape Velocity

1(i) Show that the escape velocity from the Earth's surface is where R is the
radius of the Earth and g is the acceleration of free fall on the Earth.
(ii) The radius of the Earth R = 6.4 x 106 m, and the value of g is 9.81 m s-2 . Calculate the
escape velocity from the surface of the Earth.
(iii) The mass of the Earth is 81 times the mass of the Moon, and the radius of the Earth is 3.7
times the radius of the Moon. What is the escape velocity from the Moon?

2 The mass of the Sun is 2.0 x 1030 kg, and its radius is 7.0 x 108 m. What is the minimum
kinetic energy of a hydrogen atom of mass 1.67 x 10-27 kg that escape completely from the
Sun's surface?

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ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. (a)
(i) Explain what is meant by gravitational field strength, how does the quantity vary
with the distance x from a point mass?

(ii) Explain what is meant by gravitational potential, how does the quantity vary with
the distance x from a point mass?

(iii) Sketch the graph to show each quantity (i) and (ii) varies with the distance x from
a surface of point mass.

(b) The diameter of Mars is one and a half times the diameter of the Earth, and its mass is 0.1
times the mass of the Earth. Find the ratio of the gravitational field strength on the surface of
Mars to that on surface of the Earth.

2. (a) State the law which relates the gravitational force between two point masses m and M
separated by a distance of r.

(b) Two alternative units for the gravitational field strength are N kg-1 and m s-2. Use
dimensional analysis to show that the units are equivalent.

(c) Give a formula to show the relation between gravitational field strength and gravitational
potential.

(d) An astronaut can leap to a maximum height of h on the Earth's surface, and a maximum
height of H on the Moon. If the Earth and the Moon are spheres of uniform densities  and ’

respectively, and of radii r and R respectively, show that .

3 (a) (i) State the Newton's law of universal gravitation. [1 mark]
(ii) Define gravitational field strength and gravitational potential.[2 marks]
(b) Assuming that the Earth is a uniform sphere of mass M and radius R, and that r is the
distance from the centre of the Earth,
(i) determine an expression for the gravitational field strength, in terms of the universal
gravitational constant G and M, at r = R, [2 marks]
(ii) show that the gravitational field strength is directly proportional to r for r < R, and it
is inversely proportional to r2 for r > R, [3 marks]
(iii) sketch a labeled graph of gravitational field strength against r. [3 marks]

(c) A space shuttle orbiting 280 km above the surface of the Earth releases a 470 kg satellite.
Calculate the energy required to boosts the satellite 100 km further away into another orbit.
[4 marks]
STPM 2013 P1/Q19

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