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Class IX
PHYSICS
GRAVITATION
Q1. It is seen that a falling apple is attracted towards the earth. Does the apple attract the
earth? If so, we do not see the earth moving towards an apple. Why?
Ans. According to the third law of motion, the apple does attract the earth. But according
to the second law of motion, for a given force, acceleration is inversely proportional to
themass of an object The mass of an apple is negligibly small compared to that of the
earth. So, we do not see the earth moving towards the apple.
Q.2. Define Centripetal force.
Ans. When a body moves in a circular path with a certain speed and changes direction at
every point. The change in direction involves change in velocity or acceleration. The
force that causes this acceleration and keeps the body moving along the circular path is
acting towards the centre. is called the centripetal (meaning centre-seeking) force. In
the absence of this force, the body flies off along a straight line. This straight line will
be a tangent to the circular path.
Q.3. State UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITATION
Ans. Every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force which is
proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them. The force is along the line joining the centres of two objects.
(1)
Therefore the magnitude of the gravitational force F will be equal to the product of mass
and acceleration due to the gravitational force, that is,
F = m g (2)
From Eqs. (1) and (2) we have,
Let an object be on or near the surface of the earth. The distance will be equal to R, the
radius of the earth. Thus, for objects on or near the surface of the earth
Weight
The weight
of an object is the force with which it is
attracted towards the earth.