Newton's Law and Gravity 29

Part I: The Force of Gravity

Newton's law of universal gravitation describes the attractive gravitational force that exists
between any two bodies with the following equation:

GMm

G is the gravitational constant (which for this activity you can assign a value of 1). Mand m
are the masses of the two objects attracting one another, and r is the distance from the
center of one object to the center of the other object.

1) Given that Earth is much larger and more massive than the Moon, how does the
strength of the gravitational force that the Moon exerts on Earth compare to the
gravitational force that Earth exerts on the Moon? Explain your reasoning.

2) Consider the following debate between two students about their answer to the previous
question.

Student 1: I thought that whenever one object exerts a force on a second object,
the second object also exerts a force that is equal in strength, but in the
other direction. So even though Earth is bigger and more massive than the
Moon, they still pull on each other with a gravitational force of the same
strength, just in different directions.
Student 2: I disagree. I said that Earth exerts the stronger force because it is way
bigger than the Moon. Because its mass is bigger, the gravitational force
Earth exerts has to be bigger too. I think you are confusing Newton's third
law with the law of gravity.

Do you agree or disagree with either or both of the students? Explain your reasoning.

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30 Newton's Law and Gravity

3) How would the strength of the force between the Moon and Earth change if the mass of
the Moon were somehow made two times greater than its actual mass?

Part II : Force-Distance Relationship

In the picture below, a spaceprobe traveling from Earth to Mars is shown at the halfway point
between the two (not to scale).

. Mars

4) On the diagram, clearly label the location where the spaceprobe would be when the
gravitational force by Earth on the spaceprobe is strongest? Explain your reasoning.

5) On the diagram, clearly label the location where the spaceprobe would be when the
gravitational force by Mars on the spaceprobe is strongest. Explain your reasoning.

6) Where would the spaceprobe experience the strongest net (or total) gravitational force
exerted on it by Earth and Mars? Explain your reasoning.

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 Newton's Law and Gravity 31

7) When the spacecraft is at the halfway point, how does the strength of the gravitational
force on the spaceprobe by Earth compare with the strength of the gravitational force on
the spaceprobe by Mars? Explain your reasoning.

8) Two students are discussing their answer to the previous question.

Student 1: Since the spaceprobe is exactly halfway between Earth and Mars, the
strength of the gravitational forces would be the same since the distances
are the same.
Student 2: You're right that the distances are the same, but you're forgetting about
mass. The combined mass of the spaceprobe and Earth is much big-
ger than the combined mass of the spaceprobe and Mars. So, since the
distances are the same, the strength of the gravitational force on the
spaceprobe by Earth has to be bigger than the strength of the gravitational
force on the spaceprobe by Mars.

Do you agree or disagree with either or bother of the students? Explain your reasoning.

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THIRD EDITION
32 Newton's Law and Gravity

9) If the spaceprobe had lost all ability to control its motion and was sitting at rest at the
midpoint between Earth and Mars, would the spacecraft stay at the midpoint or would it
start to move?

If you think it stays at the midpoint, explain why it would not move.

If you think it would move, then: (a) Describe the direction it would move; (b) describe
if it would speed up or slow down; (c) describe how the net (or total) force on the
spaceprobe would change during this motion; and (d) identify when/where the
spaceprobe would experience the greatest acceleration.

10) Imagine that you need to completely stop the motion of the spaceprobe and have it
remain at rest while you perform a shutdown and restart procedure. You have decided
that the best place to carry out this procedure would be at the position where the net (or
total) gravitational force on the spaceprobe by Mars and Earth would be zero. On the
diagram, label the location where you would perform this procedure . (Make your best
guess; there is no need to perform any calculations here.) Explain the reasoning behind
your choice.

11) Your weight on Earth is simply the gravitational force between you and Earth. Would
your weight be more, less, or the same on Mars? Explain your reasoning.

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THIRD EDITION