GRAVITATION

What is Gravitation? Then why doesn’t

the earth fall on
the apple?
Then why don’t
• Force of attraction between any two objects having mass we roll towards
each other?
• Force with which earth pulls an object towards its centre is the gravitational pull of the
earth or the earth’s force of gravity

• Always acts in pairs –

Earth pulls the apple, apple too pulls the earth with same force!

• Non-contact in nature

• Its strength depends on:

❑ Product of the mass of the two objects – more it is , stronger the force

❑ distance between them - more the distance, weaker the force

• Thus, significant ONLY when at least one of the two objects is very heavy e.g., the force
between EARTH and any object (light or heavy)
Effects of gravitation

• Stability of objects

• Our daily activities (walking, running, jumping, sliding, pouring…)

• Falling of objects

• Stars, planets and moons NOT falling on each other !

• Tides

• Rain

• The very birth and existence of stars, planets and moons!

Gravitation is not that strong!

• Gravity is much weaker than the electromagnetic force.

• A bar magnet will electromagnetically pull a paper clip upward, overcoming the
gravitational force of the entire Earth on the clip.

• While gravity's effects can clearly be seen on the scale of things like planets, stars
and galaxies, the force of gravity between everyday objects is extremely difficult
to measure

• Physicists have calculated that gravity is 1040 (that’s the number 1 followed by 40
zeros) times weaker than electromagnetic force
 Mass and Weight

Mass Weight

• Amount of matter in an object • The force of earth’s gravity

on an object

• Measured in kilograms (kg) or grams

(g) • Measured in newtons (N).
Weight (N) = mass (kg) X gravitational field
strength (N/kg)

• Is the same everywhere • Is different on different

planets or on moon (depends
on both how heavy and large
Though called a the planet is)
“weighing machine”,
this measures our
mass and NOT our
weight
Why doesn’t the moon fall on earth?

Why Doesn't the Moon Fall Down? | PBS LearningMedia

Further exploration:
- Galileo on the Moon | PBS LearningMedia
- https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/
Quiz!
• Strength of the gravitational force between 2 objects depend on:
• _______ of the two objects
• __________ between them

• If there’s more __________ between 2 objects, gravitational force between them will be
_________.

• Weight is a measure of ___________ while mass is a measure of the amount of _________

in an object.

• The gravitational pull of the moon is 6 times weaker than that of the earth. A person weighing
600 N on earth will weigh ____ N on moon.

• Weight of an object depends on the distance between the body and the centre of the earth.
So, a body will weigh slightly _________ at the poles than at the Equator. Also, it will weigh
slightly ______ on a mountain top than at sea level.