Department of Education Bureau of Learning Delivery

Teaching and Learning Division

Supplementary Learning Module

for Senior High School Learners

Grade Levels: Grades 12 STEM

Specialized Subject: General Physics 1
Semester: First

Learning Competencies:
STEM_GP12G-IIb-16: Use Newton’s law of universal gravitation to infer
gravitational force, weight, and acceleration due to gravity

STEM_GP12Red-IIb-18: Discuss the physical significance of gravitational field

STEM_GP12Red-IIb-19: Apply the concept of gravitational potential energy in

physics problems

STEM_GP12Red-IIb-20: Calculate quantities related to planetary or satellite

motion

STEM_GP12G-IIc-22: For circular orbits, relate Kepler’s third law of planetary

motion to Newton’s law of gravitation and centripetal acceleration

1
 Supplementary Learning Module for
Senior High School Learners

Quarter 2, Week 2: GRAVITATION

The picture on the left shows Messier 87, the first

black hole to be imaged. The image was
photographed by the Event Horizon Telescope and
was processed by Dr. Katie Bouman, a computer
scientist. Black holes are known for their immense
amount of gravity which can devour heavenly bodies
such as planets and stars, yet gravity is the weakest
fundamental force of nature. In this module, we will
learn about the concept of gravity and its importance
and relevance to our daily
lives.

Hi there! I am teacher and I will be guiding you throughout this module. At the end of this module

1. use Newton’s law of universal 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; and
5. for circular orbits, relate Kepler’s third law of planetary motion to Newton’s
law of gravitation and centripetal acceleration.

2
 Hello there! I am teacher and will also guide you in this module. Before we start with the module, a

Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. The discovery of the universal gravitation is associated with .
a. Robert Hooke c. James Joule
b. Isaac Newton d. Christian Huygens
𝑚 1 𝑚2
2. In the formula 𝐹 = 𝐺 ,
the quantity 𝐺:
𝑟2
a. Depends on the local value of g
b. Is used only when Earth is one of the two masses
c. Is greatest at the surface of Earth
d. Is a universal constant of nature
3. An astronaut on the Moon simultaneously drops a feather and a hammer. The
fact that they land together shows that:
a. No gravity forces act on a body in a vacuum.
b. The acceleration due to gravity on the Moon is less than on Earth.
c. In the absence of air resistance all bodies at a given location fall with
the same acceleration
d. The feather has a greater weight on the moon than on Earth
4. If you stood atop a ladder on Earth that was as tall as Earth’s radius (so you
were twice as far from Earth’s center) your weight atop the ladder would be
.
a. One-eighth its normal value
b. One-quarter its normal value
c. Half its normal value
d. None of the above
5. An object weighs 600 N on Earth. A second object weighs 100 N on the
moon. Which has a bigger mass?
a. The object on the Earth
b. The object on the Moon
c. Both objects have the same mass
d. Cannot be determined
6. An artificial satellite of Earth releases a bomb. Neglecting air resistance, the
bomb will:
a. Strike Earth under the satellite at the instant release
b. Strike Earth under the satellite at the instant of impact
c. Strike Earth ahead of the satellite at the instant of impact
d. the bomb will never strike Earth
3
7. Kepler’s third law of planetary motion is also known as
a. Law of universal gravitation
b. Law of ellipses
c. Law of harmonies
d. Law of equal areas
8. A satellite A has twice the mass of satellite B. The satellites orbit a planet with
the same orbital radius. The orbital velocity of the satellite A compared to B is:

a. Twice greater c. Half as much

b. Four times greater d. The same
9. A planet travels in an elliptical orbit about a star X as shown. The magnitude
of the acceleration of the planet is .

a. Greatest at point Q c. Greatest at point U

b. Greatest at point S d. Greatest at point W
10. Two objects, one with a mass of m and one with a mass of 4m are attracted
to each other by a gravitational force. If the force on 4m is F, what is the force
on mass m in terms of F?
a. 16F c. F
b. 4F d. ¼F

4
 DO THIS!

Lesson 1: NEWTON’S LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITATION

In this lesson, we will be using an important law in

Physics, that is, Newton’s law of universal gravity in
inferring concepts of weight, gravitational force and
acceleration due to gravity. Let’s get started!

What comes into your mind when you hear the word “gravity”? To start, kindly fill in
the mind map below of some words or your ideas which can be related to gravity.

You may wonder why the moon always follow you when you walk, why does the
moon doesn’t fall back to Earth, why are there tides and why does the Earth stays in
orbit around the Sun rather than flying off in space, the answer lies on one central
concept— gravity. The discovery of gravity was a popular story. During the 17th
century, Sir Isaac Newton of England was at the University of Cambridge where he
discovered the concept of gravity while the great plague was killing thousands of
people in England. Mostly believed that he discovered gravity when an apple falls
on his head, but this

5
 was not true. He was just seeing an apple falling at his birthplace in Whoolsthorpe,
Lincolnshire, England. From this observation, he concluded that the force
responsible for the falling of the apple is the same as the force that holds the planets
and heavenly bodies in orbit. From then, he formulated another law that greatly
contributes to the field of physics—the law of universal gravitation.

ISAAC NEWTON (January 4, 1643 – March 31, 1727)

Sir Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day of 1642, the same year Galileo died. His birthdate was later changed to January 4, 1643

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Upon Newton’s discovery of gravity, he then formulated his law of gravitation which
describes the gravitational attraction between any two bodies by studying the
motions of the moon and the planets. This law was published along with his three
laws of motion in 1687. The law states:

Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force

In mathematical equation:

𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝑟2
where:
𝑭𝒈 – Magnitude of the attractive gravitational force between any two bodies
𝑮 – Universal gravitation constant, equal to 6.67×10-11 Nm2/kg2
𝒎𝟏 & 𝒎𝟐 – masses of the two objects
𝒓 – distance between two objects

Newton’s law of universal gravitation has both direct and inverse relationships. This
means that the gravitational force between two particles decreases with increasing
distance r: if the distance is doubled, the force is only one-fourth as great, and so on.

6
Let us apply the universal gravitation in some problems.

1. Determine the gravitational force between a 60-kg and a 70-kg person who
are both standing 2.0 m apart.

Given:

m1 = 60 kg

m2 = 70 kg

R = 2.0 m

Required:
Fg = ?

Solution:

(6.67 × −11 m2
m1m2 N∙ )(60 kg)(70 kg)
Fg = G r2 = (10 kg2 )
(2.0 m)2
28, 014 × 10−11 N ∙ m2
=
4m2 = 7003.5 × 10−11 N

𝐅𝐠 = 𝟕. 𝟎 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟖 𝐍

2. A saleslady, whose mass is 52 kg, is doing a product demonstration in front of

the customers. She exerts a gravitational force of 7.45×10 -8 N on a 57-kg
woman who is standing in the front row. How far is the woman from the
saleslady?

Given:

m1 = 52 kg

m2 = 57 kg

Fg = 7.45×10-8 N

Required:
R=?

Solution:
m2
(6.67 × 10−11 N ∙ )(52 kg)(57 kg)
m1m2 = √ kg2
R = √G 7.45 × 10−8 N
Fg
m2
(6.67 × 10−11 N ∙ 2
) (2964 kg2)
√ kg
=
7.45 × 10−8 N

𝐑 = 𝟏. 𝟔𝟐 𝐦

7
Importance of Gravitational Force
Before we proceed, kindly do the simple experiment below and answer the questions.

Experiment Time: GRAVITY WATER

DROPof nature along with electromagnetism,
Gravity is one of the four fundamental forces
strong and weak nuclear force. Among the four, gravity is considered the weakest.
Objective
 Explain how gravity affects objects as it falls.
Materials
 Paper or Styrofoam cup
 Water
 a large bucket or a place where you can conduct the experiment
Procedure
1. Make sure you are doing the experiment over a large bucket or any safe
place at your home.
2. Poke a hole in the paper cups near the bottom on the outside of the cup.
3. Fill the cup with water but keep your finger over the hole.
4. Take your finger off the hole and observe what happens to the water.
5. Fill the cup again and hold your finger over the hole. This time, you are
going to drop the cup and let go of the hole at the same time and observe
what happens to the water.
Analysis
1. What happens to the water in procedure number 4?

2. What happens to the water in procedure number 5?

3. Is there any pressure that was applied to the water as the cup falls?

4. What do you think is the reason why the water was not being pushed out
of the hole as the cup falls?

8
Why is gravitational force so
important?
Gravitational forces between
household-sized objects are
negligible but for heavenly bodies
such as stars, planets and
galaxies, gravitation is very
substantial and the most
important force. The following are
the importance of gravitation on
cosmic scale: The four fundamental forces of nature

Gravity is responsible for holding our earth together and

The mutual gravitational

attraction between different parts of the sun compresses material at the sun’s core to very high de

What do you think are the other importance of gravitational force? Share your idea in
the box below.

Gravitational force is important in the cosmic scale because it acts at a distance, which
means there is no direct contact between bodies. Another way to describe forces that

9
acts at a distance is in terms of field. One body sets up a disturbance or field at all
points in space, and the force that acts on a second body at a point is its response to
the first body’s field at that point. Hence, gravitational force is associated with
gravitational field.
The image below shows the different gravitational field intensities at any point on
Earth.

A uniform gravitational
field, where the field
lines are always the
same distance apart,
almost exactly true if
you are close to the
surface of the Earth.
(Retrieved from: http://www.schoolphysics.co.uk/age16-19/Mechanics/Gravitation/text/Gravitational_field_intensity/index.html)
If you move back and
look at Earth from a
distance, the field lines
clearly radiate outwards
and getting further apart
as the distance from the
Earth increases.
When viewed from an
even greater distance,
a radial field can be
seen, and the intensity
of the gravitational
force decreases with
distance.
Distortion of the
gravitational field
lines by a high-
density rock. This
was most important
for the Apollo Moon
landings where
NASA discovered
concentrations of
massive rock below
the lunar surface.

Gravity and Weight

When we talk of weight, it is usually defined as the attractive gravitational force
exerted on it by Earth. But how about other bodies such as the moon, the planets,
and the universe? Is your weight the same at any point in space? To understand
more on the relationship of gravity and weight, answer the questions in the situation
below.

𝑤 = 𝑚𝑔

Suppose your mass is 77 kg.

What is your weight on Earth?

𝑔𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ = 9.8 𝑚/𝑠2 𝑔𝑀𝑜𝑜𝑛 = 1.62 𝑚/𝑠2
What is your weight on Moon?
Compare your weights on Moon and on Earth.

10
 4. What do you think is the reason why we have different weights if we go to
the Moon or to another planet?

Below shows a table of the different acceleration due to gravity of the planets in the
Solar System.
Acceleration due
Body Mass (kg) Radius (m) to gravity (g) in
m/s2
30 8
Sun 1.99 x 10 6.96 x 10 274.13
23 6
Mercury 3.18 x 10 2.43 x 10 3.59
Venus 4.88 x 1024 6.06 x 106 8.87
24 6
Earth 5.98 x 10 6.38 x 10 9.81
Moon 7.36 x 1022 1.74 x 106 1.62
23 6
Mars 6.42 x 10 3.37 x 10 3.77
Jupiter 1.90 x 1027 6.99 x 107 25.95
Saturn 5.68 x 1026 5.85 x 107 11.08
25 7
Uranus 8.68 x 10 2.33 x 10 10.67
Neptune 1.03 x 1026 2.21 x 107 14.07
22 6
Pluto 1.40 x 10 1.50 x 10 0.42
(Source: http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/astronomy/q0227.shtml)

5. Basing from the table, which planet would you weigh the greatest? The least?

6. If you weigh 340 N on Mars, what would be your mass? How would you
compare your weight on Mars to that on Earth?

7. Based on the activity, how can you define “weight”?

8. What do you think is the relationship between gravity and weight?

Gravitational Potential Energy

We already encountered gravitational potential energy during your quarter 1,
week number 5 module. Recall that, we assume that the earth’s gravitational
force of a body of mass m does not depend on the body’s height, hence, 𝑈 =
𝑚𝑔𝑦.

11
But in this lesson, the gravitational force exerted by the Earth does depend on the
distance r from the body to the earth’s center. How do we find the gravitational force
if a body of mass m is far from the earth’s surface? By this, we need a more general
expression for gravitational potential energy.
We can relate the gravitational potential energy and the universal gravitation by the
following formula:
𝐺
𝑈 =− 𝑚
𝐸
𝑚
𝑟
Where U is the gravitational potential energy; G is the universal gravitational
constant; mE is the mass of the Earth; m is the mass of the body and r is the distance
of body from the earth’s center.
To understand more how the formula was derived, kindly check out the YouTube
video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pp_LtKgTQg (retrieved from
09/07/2020).

Your mass is constant anywhere in the universe, but your weight

depends on the total gravitational force exerted on the body by all
other bodies in the universe. When you are near at the surface of
the Earth, this means that we can ignore all other gravitational
forces and consider your weight as just the Earth’s gravitational
attraction. The same applies if you are on the Moon and so on.

EXPLORE!

Now, let us try to check how far you’ve learned from Lesson 1. Answer the following problems below

1. The gravitational force of attraction between the earth and the sun is 1.6×1023
N. What would be the force if the earth were three times as massive?
2. If the masses remain the same but the distance of separation is decreased to
one-half the original distance, what happens to gravitational force? Explain
your answer in equation form.
3. How much does a woman of mass 50 kg weigh on the earth’s surface? What
12
 would be her mass 400,000 km above the earth’s surface?
4. A bag of ball bearings weighs 21.56 N on Earth and 3.52 N on another planet.
What is the acceleration due to gravity on the other planet?

13
Since you have learned the concepts on gravity and the law of universal gravitation, answer the follo

Jupiter, one of the gas giants, protects the Earth from asteroids

Tides are essential to oceanic life, including the reproductive a

Astronauts during the Apollo Mission to the Moon in 1969 expe

14
 DO THIS!

Lesson 2: SATELLITE MOTION & KEPLER’S LAWS OF PLANETARY

MOTION

In this lesson, we will discuss Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and how it is important in the fiel

Satellite Motion

This is the International Space Station. It is a

unique science laboratory which houses
astronauts and cosmonauts. The space station
orbits the Earth at an average altitude of
approximately 250 miles and travels at a speed
of 17,500 mph. Its mass is approximately 4.5×105
kg and 108 m wide, making it the largest satellite
ever placed in orbit. How does the ISS stay in
orbit? What determines the properties of its orbit?
To understand how it works, Newton has a “thought” experiment on the motion of
satellites by using a cannonball fired horizontally with a horizontal speed from an
altitude. This cannonball is a projectile, that is, it has horizontal and vertical
components.
Suppose the cannonball is fired from point
A in the direction of AB, which is tangent to
the surface of the earth. The image on the
right shows the effect of increasing the
initial speed of the cannonball from
trajectories 1 to 7. If there is no air
resistance, the speed of the cannonball
when it returns to point A is the same as its
initial speed and it repeats its motion
indefinitely through trajectories 3 to 5, and
the cannonball becomes a satellite.
Trajectories 1 to 5 are known as closed orbits, which are all ellipses or segments of
ellipses; trajectory 4 is a circle, a special case of an ellipse. Trajectories 6 and 7 are
open orbits, where the projectile never returns to its starting point and travels farther
away from Earth.

15
A satellite orbiting Earth moves in uniform circular motion. To find the speed of the
satellite, recall that the satellite’s centripetal acceleration is given by:

𝑣2
𝑎𝑐 =
𝑟
Using Newton’s second law (𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎𝑐 ), we can rewrite the formula as:
𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 =
𝑟
Using the equations above, we can incorporate Newton’s law of universal gravitation
and gives the following equation:
𝑚𝐸
𝑚 �
𝐺 2 �
𝑟 𝑣2
= 𝑟
Solving for the speed (𝑣) of the satellite in circular orbit around the Earth gives the
following:

Speed of a Satellite Orbiting Earth:

𝑣 =𝐺𝑚 𝐸
√
𝑟
The speed of a satellite orbiting Earth is equal to the square root of the universal gravitational constant times

We can also find the orbital period of a satellite orbiting Earth the same as the planet
is orbiting the Sun. Recall that the orbital period of a planet orbiting the Sun is
expressed by:

3
𝑇 = 2𝜋 √ 𝑟
𝐺𝑚𝑆

Thus, the period of a satellite orbiting Earth is given by the following equation:

Period of a Satellite Orbiting Earth:

𝑟3
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝐺𝑚𝐸

The period for a satellite orbiting Earth is equal to 2𝜋 times the square root of the radius of the orbit cubed, d

16
 Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
Do you ever wonder how the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun?
This idea has been studied around since 16 th and 17th centuries where the threefold
realizations were established that the earth is a planet, the planets revolve around
the sun and that the apparent motions of the planets as seen from earth can be used
to determine their orbits precisely.
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published the first and second ideas of the threefold
realizations. These ideas helped weaken Ptolemy’s claim that the Earth is the center
of the Solar System, such that the planets and the Sun revolve around it.
The third idea was deduced between 1601 and 1619 by Johannes Kepler and paved
the way for the laws of planetary motion. What are the three laws of planetary motion
and how is it relevant to the modern day? Let us discuss them one by one.

JOHANNES KEPLER
(December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630)
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician and astronomer who is popularly known for his three laws of planetary mo

First Law of Planetary Motion: Law of Ellipses

What do you think is the true shape of the orbits of the planets? Is it a circle or
an oval? Kepler deduced that the orbit of the planet is an ellipse.

Law of Ellipses:
Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit, with the sun at one focus of the ellipse.

But what exactly is the shape of an ellipse? To visualize an ellipse, do the short
activity below.

Kepler’s First Law of Planetary

Motion

Objective
Sketch and visualize an ellipse.

17
 Materials
 Paper
 String
 Two thumbtacks or pushpins
 Ruler
 Pencil

Procedure
1. Prepare the materials. (Be careful in handling the thumbtacks or
pushpins).
2. Lay the paper on the flat surface of the table.
3. Pierce the two thumbtacks or pushpins 2 cm apart.
4. Tie the opposite ends of a 5-cm string and stretch it around the two
thumbtacks or pushpins as shown below.

5. Pull the string tight using the pencil and trace out an ellipse on
the paper.

Output
Place your drawing inside the box below.

Not considering circular motion, Kepler’s first idea on planetary orbits was
flawed. But after his 6 years of study, he proposed that planets do not move in
perfect circles, but rather in elliptical orbits.

18
 What makes an ellipse so unique that Kepler proposed it as the shape of a
planet’s orbit? Its eccentricity, which is a measure of how deviated the elliptical
orbit is from being a circle. The aphelion is the point at which the planet is
farthest from the Sun while the perihelion is the point at which the planet is
nearest to the sun.

The elliptical orbit of a planet and its properties: foci, eccentricity,

semimajor axis, aphelion, and perihelion

In the activity above, the length of the string (s) is related to the semimajor axis
(a) and the eccentricity (e) of the ellipse, is expressed in the formula:

𝑠 = 2𝑎(1 + 𝑒)
The semimajor axis is the distance from the center to a vertex. Eccentricity
ranges from 0 to 1. Can you find the eccentricity of the ellipse you have
drawn? Show your solution below.

Second Law of Planetary Motion: Law of Equal Areas

Law of Equal Areas:
A line from the sun to a given planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

Kepler’s second law of planetary motion states that the imaginary line segment
connecting a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal time intervals.

19
 Basing from the image, the shaded regions
have equal parts. This also implies that, as
the planet revolves around the Sun, it
changes its motion. The planet moves
fastest when it reaches perihelion, while
moves the slowest at aphelion.

Third Law of Planetary Motion: Law of Harmonies

Law of Harmonies:
The periods of the planets are proportional to the ��ൗ𝟐 powers of the major axis length

To explain further, the law states that the square of the time it takes for the
planet to make one revolution around the sun (known as the orbital period) is
proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of the planet’s elliptical orbit.
𝑻
𝟑
( = (𝒂)𝟏
𝟏 � 𝒂𝟐
)
where, 𝑻
𝟐

T = orbital periods of a planet (planet 1 or 2)

a = length of the semimajor axis

Universal Gravitation and Kepler’s Third Law

We can associate Newton’s law of universal gravitation to Kepler’s law of harmonies
since we can apply these equations to the motion of planets about the Sun.
Suppose a planet is orbiting the Sun. Using Newton’s second law of motion, we have:

𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎
We can rewrite the equation in terms of mass of the planet and its centripetal
acceleration:

𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐

Where F is the gravitational force, 𝑚𝑝 is the mass of the planet and 𝑎𝑐 is

the centripetal acceleration of the planet.
Assume circular orbits, recall your lesson on uniform circular motion, we can express
the centripetal acceleration for circular orbits as:

20
 4𝜋 2 𝑟
𝑎𝑐
= 𝑇2
Substituting, we have:

𝑚𝑝 (eqn. 2.1)
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 4𝜋 2 𝑟

𝑇2
Here, T is the time, or the period required for a planet to make one complete
revolution around the Sun. We can now equate Newton’s law of universal gravitation
an equation
2.1 to give:
𝑚𝑆 𝑚
𝑃 𝑚𝑝
𝐺 4𝜋 2 𝑟
�
�2 𝑇2
=
Rearranging the equation to give the period of a planet orbiting the sun:
𝑚𝑆 𝑚
𝑃 𝑚𝑝
𝐺 4𝜋 2 𝑟
�
�2 𝑇2
=

4
𝑇 2 = ( 𝜋 ) 𝑟3
2

�
�
�
�
𝑆

𝑇 = √( 4 ) 𝑟 3
𝜋
2

𝐺𝑚𝑆

Therefore, we can express the period of planet orbiting the Sun as follows:

Period of a Planet Orbiting the Sun:

𝑟3
𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝐺𝑚𝑆
The period of a planet orbiting the Sun is equal to the 2𝜋 times the square root of the orbital radius cubed, div

21
Sample Problems:
1. Assume that a satellite orbits Earth 225 km above its surface. Given that the
mass of Earth is 5.97×1024 kg and the radius of Earth is 6.38×10 6 m, what are
the satellite’s orbital speed and period?

Given:
 h = 225 km = 2.25×10-8 m
 rE = 6.38×106 m
 mE = 5.97×1024 kg
 G = 6.67×10-11 N·m2/kg2

22
 Required:
v=?
T=?

Solution:
a. Determining orbital radius by adding the height of satellite’s orbit and the
Earth’s radius given by:
𝑟 = ℎ + 𝑟𝐸 = 2.25 × 105 𝑚 + 6.38 × 106 𝑚 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟏 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔
𝒎
b. Solve for the orbital speed by:
𝑚2
(6.67 × 10−11 𝑁 ∙ )(5.97 × 1024 𝑘𝑔)
𝑣 = 𝐺 𝑘𝑔 2
√
𝑚𝐸 6.61 × 106 𝑚
=
√ 𝒗 = 𝟕. 𝟕𝟔 ×
𝑟 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎/𝒔
c. Solving for the period, we
have: (6.61 × 106 𝑚)3
𝑟3
𝑇 = 2𝜋 √ = 𝑚2
𝐺 2𝜋 (6.67 × 10−11 𝑁 ∙ ) (5.97 ×
𝑚 √
𝐸
10 𝑘𝑔 )
24

𝑘𝑔 2
𝑻 = 𝟓. 𝟑𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒔
Converting to minutes, this is approximately 89 min, 0r 1.5 hours

2. Calculate the orbital period of an unknown planet having the same eccentricity
as that of Earth. Its distance from the sun is 14 times the sun-Earth distance.

Given:
 T1 = 1 year
The distance of the unknown planet from the sun can be written as:
𝑎1 1
=
𝑎2 14

Required:
T2 = ?

Solution:
Substituting values to the equation of Kepler’s third law of planetary motion
gives:
𝑇1
( ) 2= (𝑎1) 3
𝑇2 𝑎2
1 𝑦𝑟 3
2
= ()1
( ) 14
𝑇2
(1)3(𝑇2 )2 = (1 𝑦𝑟)2(14)3
𝑇2 = √(1 𝑦𝑟 )2 𝑦𝑟 3
𝑻𝟐 = 𝟓𝟐. 𝟑𝟖 𝒚𝒓
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 We can relate Kepler’s third law of planetary motion and Newton’s universal law of grav

EXPLORE!

Now, let us try to check how far you’ve learned from Lesson 2. Answer the following problems below

1. Suppose that the satellite in Sample Problem number 1 is moved to an orbit

that is 24 km larger in radius than its previous orbit. What would its speed be?
Is this faster or slower than its previous speed?

2. Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has a radius of 2.44×106 m, with a
mass of 3.30×1023 kg and has 5.79×1010 m distance from the Sun. Find the
following:
a. The speed of a satellite that is in orbit 260 km above Mercury’s surface
b. The period of the satellite

3. The Moon has a period of 27.3 days and a mean distance of 3.90×105 km
from the center of Earth.
a. Use Kepler’s laws to find the period of a satellite in orbit 6.70×10 3 km
from the center of Earth.
b. How far above Earth’s surface is this satellite?

Since you have learned the concepts of satellite motion and Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, answ

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 New Horizons was launched by NASA last January 19, 2006

Neptune orbits the Sun with an orbital radius of 4.495×1012 m,

REFLECT!

Congratulations! You have reached the end of the module. Have you learned the concepts

25
 I understand

I don’t understand

I need information about

Hi there! Now that you have read and understood the concepts, let us check what have you got b

Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Newton reasoned that the gravitational attraction between Earth and the moon
must be .
a. Reduced by distance
b. Independent of distance
c. Directly proportional to distance
d. The same at all distances
2. If Earth’s mass decreased to one half its original mass, with no change in radius,
then your weight would .
a. Stay the same
b. Decrease to one half of your original weight
c. Decrease to one quarter of your original weight
d. Decrease to one-eighth of your original weight
3. Suppose the gravitational force between two massive spheres is 100 N. If the
distance between the spheres is doubled, what is the force between the
masses?
a. 400 N c. 50 N
b. 200 N d. 25 N
4. If 1-kg of oatmeal weighs 10 N on the Earth’s surface, what can be said about
the weight of 1-kg of cotton?
a. One kilogram of cotton weighs about 10 N on the earth’s surface.

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 b. One kilogram of cotton weighs one-sixth that of the oatmeal on the
earth’s surface.
c. One kilogram of cotton weighs half the weight of the oatmeal.
d. One kilogram of cotton weighs twice that of the oatmeal.
5. Which of the following is TRUE of the mass and weight of an astronaut on
Mars, if compared with his mass and weight on Earth?
a. Less mass and less weight
b. Less mass and more weight
c. The same mass and less weight
d. The same weight and less mass
6. An astronaut finishes some work on the outside of his satellite, which is in
circular orbit around Earth. He leaves his wrench outside the satellite. What
will happen to the wrench?
a. Fall directly down to Earth
b. Continue in orbit at reduced speed
c. Continue in orbit with the satellite
d. Fly off tangentially to space
7. An artificial satellite of Earth nears the end of its life due to air resistance.
What will happen to the satellite while still in orbit?
a. It moves faster as the orbit lowers
b. It moves slower as the orbit lowers
c. It slowly spirals away from Earth
d. It moves slower in the same orbit but with a decreasing period
8. Two satellites A and B orbit the same planet. Satellite B moves in circular orbit
with twice greater radius than satellite A. What is the orbital velocity of satellite
B compared to the velocity of A?

1 √2
a. 𝑣 = 𝑣
1 c. 𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣𝐵
b. 𝐴 √2 𝐵 11
𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣𝐵
2 d. 𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣𝐵
4
9. A planet travels in an elliptical orbit about a star as shown. At what pair of
points is the speed of the planet the same?
a. W and S
b. P and T
c. P and R
d. Q and U

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 10. Two objects are attracted to each other by a gravitational force F. if one mass
is doubled and the other is tripled without changing the distance, what is the
new gravitational force between the objects in terms of F?
a. 4F c. 6F
b. 9F d. 1/9F

Ellipse The oval path followed by a satellite.

Gravitational Field The influence that a massive body extends into the space
around itself, producing a force on another massive body. It
is measured in newtons per kilogram.
Law of Ellipses Kepler’s first law of planetary motion; the path of each planet
around the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.

Law of Equal Kepler’s second law of planetary motion; the line from the
Areas Sun to any planet sweeps out equal areas of space in equal
time intervals.
Law of Harmonies Kepler’s third law of planetary motion; the square of the orbital
period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the
average distance of the planet from the Sun.
Law of Universal
Gravitation Every body in the universe attracts every other body with a
force that, for two bodies, is directly proportional to the
product of their masses and inversely proportional to the
square of the distance between them.
Satellite A projectile or small celestial body that orbits a larger
celestial body.
Weight The force that an object exerts on a supporting surface,
which is often, but not always, due to the force of gravity.

Books

 Young, Hugh D. et al. 2016. Sears and Zemansky’s University Physics with Modern Physics.
Pearson
 Hewitt, Paul G. 2009. Conceptual Physics. Pearson
 Padua, Alicia L. 2010. et al. Practical and Explorational Physics. Vibal Publishing House, Inc.
 Glencoe Science. 2005. Physics Principles and Problems. McGraw-Hill.
 Punzalan, Jervee M., et al. 2016. Physical Science. Sibs Publishing House, Inc.

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Multimedia

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pp_LtKgTQg

Images

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons
 https://www.pikist.com/free-photo-syvcc
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/esoastronomy/40615354273
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Isaac_Newton_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller,_Bt.jpg
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Kepler_1610.jpg
 https://images.app.goo.gl/8C4vD85xbTCnuQfR9
 https://pixabay.com/illustrations/solar-system-planet-planetary-system-11111/
 https://pixabay.com/illustrations/sun-planet-galaxy-space-red-star-1494070/
 https://www.freevector.com/vector/earth
 https://creazilla.com/nodes/33156-earth-planet-clipart
 https://www.needpix.com/photo/download/47703/international-space-station-space-station-
space-nasa-space-travel-solar-cells-solar-modules-science-fiction-spaceship
 https://pixabay.com/photos/jupiter-sky-space-planet-universe-1009305/
 https://pixabay.com/photos/space-station-moon-landing-apollo-15-60615/
 https://www.pikrepo.com/fevrz/ocean-wave-under-bluesky/download

Online Resources

 http://content.njctl.org/courses/science/algebra-based-physics/uniform-circular-motion-
universal-gravitation/universal-gravitation-multiple-choice/universal-gravitation-multiple-
choice-2013-06-27.pdf
 http://samohiphysics.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/8/8/22884236/universal_gravitation_practice_q
uiz.pdf
 www.allonlinefree.com
 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-Newton
 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler
 https://www.metrofamilymagazine.com/simple-science-experiments-gravity-water-drop/
 http://www.schoolphysics.co.uk/age16-
19/Mechanics/Gravitation/text/Gravitational_field_intensity/index.html
 http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/astronomy/q0227.shtml
 https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Prepared by: DISCLAIMER

The contents of this module such as text, graphics, images, and other
materials are for general and educational purposes. I created this
module solely for non – commercial, informational, and educational
purposes.
There is no intention on my part to claim ownership as to the contents

CHRISTIAN B. AUMAN
SHS Faculty
Labogon National High School
Mandaue City, Cebu
June, 2020

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