Name: SPS11: Physics

Section: Exam 2 v1

1) A planet is caught in a binary star

system with two stars, and they are ar-
ranged in a line as shown to the right.
Use the following data:
ˆ Planet mass, mp = 5 × 1022 kg
ˆ Star 1 mass, m1 = 2 × 1030 kg
ˆ Distance 1, r1 = 2 × 1011 m
ˆ Distance 2, r2 = 8 × 1011 m

a. Calculate the force of gravity on the planet from star 1.

b. Find the mass of the second star if it is known that the net force on the planet is 0.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

2) The Earth’s orbit is practically circular, but you experimented with suddenly changing the values
of masses and distances in Lab 4. Consider the Earth proceeding in its orbit as shown in figure (a)
below.

a. Suppose at the moment shown in figure (a), the mass of the sun were suddenly increased.
Which orbit, (a), (b), or (c), would Earth’s orbit change into in this case? Explain your
reasoning.

b. Suppose instead that the mass of the Earth were suddenly increased at the moment shown in
figure (a). Which orbit would Earth follow in this case? Explain your reasoning.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

3) A popular carnival ride is the Gravitron,

which spins people very rapidly in a circular
shaped drum. Some versions have people on
slanted slabs that then rise up the walls, but
let’s consider here a version with perfectly
vertical walls. In this ride, the passengers
feel pinned to the wall as the ride spins.

a. Consider the passengers to be standing on the floor with their backs against the perfectly
vertical and flat walls. What direction is the net force on a passenger: inward towards the
center of the circle, outwards away from the center of the circle, along their direction of
motion (tangent to the circle), against their direction of motion, upwards towards their head,
downwards towards their feet, or some other direction? Explain your reasoning.

b. If the radius of the ride is 10 m, how fast is the ride spinning if the passengers feel pinned to
the wall with a force equal to twice their weight? You may consider an average passenger to
have a mass of 80 kg.

c. Extra credit: show algebraically why the mass of the passenger does not matter in part (b).

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

4) A pendulum of mass m = 0.2 kg is

hung vertically from a string of length
of 2 m.

a. When the pendulum is stationary, as in the left figure, find the force of the string.

b. Either algebraically or with words, explain why the force from the string increases when the
pendulum is swinging. (Hint: draw a free body diagram)

c. The greatest force the string can exert before snapping is 3.6 N. Find the fastest speed the
pendulum can swing.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

5) The Sun is responsible for the orbits of the planets, but the planets also exert gravitational
forces on each other, slightly altering each others’ orbits over time. The biggest culprit by far is
Jupiter, which is enormous, but it’s far from Earth. Mars is closer, but much less massive. Use the
following data for the masses of Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, and the average distances between Earth
and Mars and Earth and Jupiter:

mEarth = 6 × 1024 kg mMars = 6 × 1023 kg

mJupiter = 2 × 1027 kg rEarth,Mars = 3 × 1011 m
rEarth,Jupiter = 8 × 1011 m

Find the fraction FJupiter /FMars . This fraction is how many times greater the force from Jupiter is
than the force from Mars exerted on the Earth.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

6) A satellite orbits an alien planet at a distance of

r = 2×108 m and it takes a period of T = 3×105 s
(about 3 and a half days) to orbit the alien planet
once in a circular orbit. The satellite’s mass is
ms = 2 × 103 kg.

a. Find the orbital speed v.

b. Using any method, calculate the mass of the alien planet using the information about the
satellite’s orbit.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

7) A popular theoretical alternative to rocket

propulsion to get payloads into orbit is a space
elevator. Basically, it is a long, strong tether that
stretches from the Earth’s surface to a counter-
weight (of mass mc ) that orbits the Earth. The
purpose of the counterweight is to keep the tether
taught; if the counterweight orbits too close to the
Earth, the tether goes slack, but if it’s far away,
the tether remains tight.a
a
The counterweight could be a huge mass we put in
orbit ourselves or even a captured asteroid, it just needs
to be a big thing.

Use the following data:

T = 24 hrs ≈ 9 × 104 s mc = 4 × 106 kg

mEarth = 6 × 1024 kg r = 6 × 107 m

a. Find the orbital speed of the counterweight.

b. Find the centripetal acceleration of the counterweight.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

c. Calculate the force of gravity on the counterweight.

d. Find the force exerted on the counterweight from the tether.

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

8) Newton’s cannon was the thought experiment

that started us thinking about universal gravita-
tion. The “experiment” involved firing a cannon-
ball at such a high speed from a tall mountain
such that it “falls” at the same rate the Earth’s
surface curves.

a. Considering the Earth’s radius is 6.4 × 106 m, and the acceleration of the projectile is about
10 m/s2 , find the velocity required to have the cannonball orbit in a circular orbit along the
Earth’s surface.

b. Sketch here the path or orbit of a cannonball fired with slightly more velocity than the one
you found in part (a). What shape does it take?

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Name: SPS11: Physics
Section: Exam 2 v1

Useful equations and constants

−11 N m2 −11 N m
2
m1 m2
G = 6.67 × 10 ≈ 7 × 10 FG = G
kg2 kg2 r2
2πr = circle circumference vT = 2πr
a3 Gm a31 a32
= =
T2 4π 2 T12 T22
v2
ac =
r

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