Gravitational Field
Physics · 50 practice questions
Newton's law of universal gravitation; gravitational potential; conservative and non-conservative fields; acceleration due to gravity and its variation on the earth's surface; distinction between mass and weight; escape velocity; parking orbit and weightlessness.
- Identify the expression for gravitational force between two bodies and apply Newton's law of universal gravitation.
- Give examples of conservative and non-conservative fields.
- Deduce the expression for gravitational field potential.
- Identify causes of variation of g on the earth's surface.
- Differentiate between mass and weight.
- Determine escape velocity.
Try a few questions
- Practice question 1
If the distance between two masses is halved, the gravitational force between them
- A.increases to twice its original value
- B.decreases to half its original value
- C.decreases to one-quarter of its original value
- D.increases to four times its original value
Show the answer
D. increases to four times its original value
Halving the distance increases the force by a factor of four, according to the inverse square law.
- Practice question 2
A planet's surface gravity, g, depends on both its mass and its radius, according to the relationship
- A.g = GM/R²
- B.g = GM/R
- C.g = GMR²
- D.g = GM²/R
Show the answer
A. g = GM/R²
This formula shows g increasing with the planet's mass but decreasing with the square of its radius.
- Practice question 3
Tidal forces arise because the moon's gravitational pull varies slightly across the diameter of the earth, being
- A.identical in strength on both the near and far sides
- B.weaker on the near side and stronger on the far side
- C.entirely absent on both the near and far sides
- D.stronger on the near side and weaker on the far side
Show the answer
D. stronger on the near side and weaker on the far side
This difference in pull across the earth's diameter is exactly what generates the tidal bulges responsible for tides.
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