Answers to Circular Motion/Gravitation Review Problems:

1.
The speed can be found from the centripetal force and centripetal
acceleration.
FR maR m v 2 r v

FR r
m

210 N 0.90 m

2.0 kg

9.7 m s

2. To find the period, the rotational speed (in rev/min) is reciprocated to have
min/rev, and then
converted to sec/rev. Use the period to find the speed, and then the
centripetal acceleration.
sec
1 min 60 sec

1.333
rev
45 rev 1 min

aR v r
2

0.754 m s 2
0.16 m

r 0.16 m

2 r
T

2 0.16 m
1.333 sec

0.754 m s

3.6 m s 2

2
3. The centripetal force that the tension provides is given by FR mv r . Solve that

for the speed.

v

FR r
m

75 N 1.3 m
0.45 kg

15 m s

4. The spacecraft is three times as far from the Earths center as when at the
surface of the Earth. Therefore, since the force as gravity decreases as the
square of the distance, the force of gravity on the spacecraft will be one-ninth of
its weight at the Earths surface.
FG mg Earth's
1
9

surface

1350 kg 9.80 m
9

s2

1.47 10 N
3

This could also have been found using Newtons law of Universal Gravitation.
5. (a) Mass is independent of location and so the mass of the ball is 21.0 kg on both
the Earth and the
planet.
(b)

The weight is found by W mg .

WEarth mg Earth 21.0 kg 9.80 m s 2 206 N

WPlanet mg Planet 21.0 kg 12.0 m s 2 252 N .

6. Assume that the two objects can be treated as point masses, with m1 m and

m2 4 kg m . The gravitational force between the two masses is given by

F G

m1m2
r2

m 4 m
r2

6.67 10 11 N m 2 kg 2

4m m2

0.25 m

2.5 10 10 N .

This can be rearranged into a quadratic form of m 2 4m 0.234 0 . Use the

quadratic formula to solve for m, resulting in two values which are the two
masses.

m1 3.9 kg , m2 0.1 kg .