Gravitation

1. What is centripetal force?

Ans) Centripetal force is the force acting on an object that keeps it moving along a circular
path and is directed towards the centre of the circular path.

2. The motion of the moon around the earth is due to the centripetal force.

3. Acceleration due to gravity on the surface of earth is greater at poles and less at the
equator.

4. State the 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.

5. Write the formula to find the magnitude of gravitational force between the earth and
the object on the surface of earth.
Ans)
Mm
F = G d2 where M is the mass of earth.

6. What do you mean by free fall?

Ans) When an object is dropped from a certain height and it falls towards the earth under the
influence of gravitational force alone, then such a motion of object towards the earth is called
free fall.

7. What do you understand by acceleration due to gravity?

Ans) The acceleration acquired by a body falling freely towards the centre of the earth is called
acceleration due to gravity. It is denoted by ‘g’.

8. Differentiate between mass and weight of object

Ans)
Mass Weight
a) Mass of an object is a) Weight of an object is the
the amount of matter force with which it is attracted
present in the object. towards the earth.
b) Mass is a scalar b) weight is a vector
quantity quantity
c) Mass of an object c) Weight of an object
 stays constant may vary from place to
everywhere. place. It depends on its
location.
d) It is a measure of d)It is a measure of gravity
inertia

9. What is the relation between the weight of object on moon and its weight on earth?
Ans)
Weight of object on the moon = 1 its weight on earth
6

10. What is the SI unit of weight?

Ans) Newton

Numericals
A) Mass of an object is 10kg. What is its weight on the earth?
ans) Given
mass , m = 10 kg
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8m/s2

Weight of object on earth is ,

W = mxg
= 10 kg x 9.8m/s2
= 98 kgm/s2 Or 98 N

Thus, the weight of object on earth is 98 N

B) An objects weighs 24 N on the surface of earth. What would be its weight when
measured on the surface of moon?
Ans) Given ,
Weight of object on earth = 24 N

Weight of object on the moon = 1/6 its weight on earth

Let Wm be the weight of object on the moon and
Let We be the weight of object on the earth
Therefore,
Wm = We/6
= 24 N/ 6
=4N
Thus weight of object on the surface of moon is 4 N.

C) If the mass of an object on the surface of earth is 20 kg, what would be its weight when
measured on the surface of earth and moon . Take g = 9.8m/s2
Ans) Given
Mass, m = 20 kg
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8m/s2

a) Weight of object on surface of earth is

W = mxg
= 20 kg x 9.8m/s2
= 196 kgm/s2 Or 196 N

b) Weight of object on the moon = 1/6 its weight on earth

Let Wm be the weight of object on the moon and

Let We be the weight of object on the earth
Therefore, Wm = We/6
= 196N/ 6
= 32.67 N

Thus weight of object on surface of earth is 196 N and on the surface of moon is 32.67 N