Chapter 6

XI PHYSICS

1.1

“The force of attraction between any two bodies in the

universe is directly proportional to the product of their
masses and inversely proportion to the square of the
distance between their centers”

FOOD FOR T HOUGHT

Consider the Earth-Sun

system, according to
Newton’s Third Law, both
If m1 and m2 are the masses of two spheres and r is the the bodies exert equal
distance between their centers, then by Newton’s law of force on each other, then
gravitation, the gravitation force (F12) is given by, why is it that the Earth
revolves around the Sun
𝐹12 ∝ 𝑚1 𝑚2 and it is not true
otherwise?
1
𝐹12 ∝
𝑟2
On combining both the relations,
𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹12 ∝
𝑟2

Page no. 1
www.myinteracademy.com 0333-0694951-3
 Chapter 6

XI PHYSICS
Upon replacing the proportionality with a constant and equality,
𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹12 = (𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡)
𝑟2
𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹12 =
𝑟2

Where G is the constant called Universal Gravitational Constant, its

value is
6.67×10⁻¹¹ Nm²/kg².

Since, Force is a vector quantity, the vectorial representation of Newton’s Law of

Gravitation is

𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹⃗12 = − 𝑟̂21
𝑟2
𝒓̂𝟐𝟏 is the unit vector having the direction from 𝒎𝟐 to 𝒎𝟏 . According
to Newton’s Third Law, 𝒎𝟐 also exerts a force on 𝒎𝟏 ( 𝑭 ⃗⃗𝟐𝟏 ). The
negative sign shows that the force is attractive in nature.
𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹⃗21 = − 𝑟̂12
𝑟2

1.1.1

Suppose 𝒎 is the mass of the body placed on the surface of the

earth. Also suppose that 𝑴𝑬 is the mass and 𝑹𝑬 is the radius of the
earth.

Page no. 2
www.myinteracademy.com 0333-0694951-3
 Chapter 6

XI PHYSICS

Gravitational force of attraction on mass 𝒎 due to earth is given by,

𝐺𝑚𝑀𝐸
𝐹=
(𝑅𝐸 )2
This force produces acceleration equal to 𝒈 in the body. Hence it must be
equal to 𝒎𝒈 (second law of motion). Thus,

𝐺𝑚𝑀𝐸
𝑚𝑔 =
(𝑅𝐸 )2
𝐺𝑀𝐸
𝑔=
(𝑅𝐸 )2
Arranging the above expression for 𝑴𝑬 and putting the values for 𝒈, 𝑮
and 𝑹𝑬

𝑔(𝑅𝐸 )2
𝑀𝐸 =
𝐺
𝒎
By substituting 𝒈 = 𝟗. 𝟖 , 𝑹𝑬 = 𝟔. 𝟑𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎 and
𝒔𝟐
𝑮 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎⁻¹¹𝑵𝒎²/𝒌𝒈².
We get,

𝑴𝑬 = 𝟓. 𝟗𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎²⁴𝒌𝒈

Suppose 𝝆 is the average density of the earth.

Density is given by the ratio of Mass and Volume
𝑀𝐸
𝜌=
𝑉𝐸
Here, 𝑽𝑬 is the volume of earth.
Since, the shape of earth is best approximated by a sphere, the
formula for volume of sphere is given by
4
𝑉𝐸 = 𝜋𝑅𝐸 3
3
Substituting the formula for volume
3 𝑀𝐸
𝜌=
4 𝜋𝑅𝐸3

Page no. 3
www.myinteracademy.com 0333-0694951-3
 Chapter 6

XI PHYSICS

Substituting 𝑴𝑬 = 𝟓. 𝟗𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎²⁴ 𝒌𝒈 and 𝑹𝑬 = 𝟔. 𝟑𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎

We get,
𝝆 = 𝟓. 𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎³ 𝒌𝒈/𝒎³

Page no. 4
www.myinteracademy.com 0333-0694951-3