The importance of gravitational

forces acting on bodies

Miss Ramdehal
Integrated Science
For 1.4&1.6
 Importance of Gravity
 If you take an object and throw it into the air, it eventually falls to the
ground instead of rising or staying where it is. Why is that?
 Importance of Gravity
 Most of us define gravity as the force that holds us down on Earth or causes
things to fall. A better definition of gravity is the attraction between two
masses. Objects with a larger mass have a larger gravitational force or gravity.
The gravitational force between two objects also depends on how far apart
they are. The closer the two objects are together, the stronger the
gravitational force is between them. 
 Both you and the Earth have mass, therefore you pull on the Earth and the
Earth pulls on you. However, because the Earth's mass is so much bigger than
yours, it has a greater gravity and is enough to keep you down on its surface.
When you jump, because the Earth's mass is much bigger, its gravity pulls you
back down. 
 Astronauts on the moon experienced about one sixth the gravity that they felt
on earth. This is because the moon has a smaller mass than the earth. Gravity
is also why we weigh less on the moon, since weight depends on the force of
gravity on an object. Gravity even holds the earth's atmosphere in place,
causes the ocean's tides, and keeps the moon and planets in their orbits. It's
truly an important force.
 Importance of Gravity
 Question-  The moon's gravity is one-sixth that of the Earth's. What
differences would be observed if you were to drop a stone from the same
height on the Earth and on the moon?

Think- Think about your answer for a few minutes. You may write down
your answers if you'd like.
 Mass and Weight
 Weight and mass are not the same.

The mass of an object is the amount of matter it contains. The SI unit of mass is kg.
The weight is the force acting on an object due to gravity. The SI unit of weight is the
newton (N) because weight is a force.

Weight can be found by using the following formula-

Weight= mass x acceleration due to gravity

W= mg

So the weight of an object depends on its mass (m) and the acceleration due to gravity
(g).

Example. The mass of a bowling ball is 5kg. Find the weight of the bowling ball on-
(a) Earth (On the Earth, g = 9.8 m/s2)
(b) The moon (On the moon, g = 1.6 m/s2)
(c) In deep space, free of gravity
 
 Answers

(a) Weight  on Earth

W=mg
W = 5 x 9.8  = 49 N

(b) Weight on Moon

W=mg
W= 5 x 1.6 = 8 N

(c) In outer space

W=mg
W= 5 x 0 = 0 N

Note 2 things-
1. The mass doesn't change
2. The weight changes because weight is dependent on gravity.
 Weightlessness

 If an object is taken out into deep or outer space, away from the gravitational
pull of the Sun and other planets, it will experience weightlessness. Here , g = 0 
because the object is so far away from any other object, it experiences no
gravitational forces of attraction. 
In this case the weight of the object will be 0 because-
                              weight = mass x g =0
                              

An object in outer space will therefore have no weight and will be considered
weightless. 

Astronauts in orbit around the Earth experience 'weightlessness'.  They are not
really 'weightless' because they are still being pulled by the Earth's gravity. They
are actually free- falling towards the Earth, but because they do not feel any
resultant force from their surroundings, they feel as though they have no
weight. 
 Self Check

1. What is gravity?
2. State three reasons why gravity on Earth is important.
3. Explain why mass and weight are not the same.
4. A boy has a mass of 40kg. Calculate 
(a) the weight of the boy on Earth, where g = 9.8 m/s2
(b) the weight of the boy on Mars, where g = 3.8 m/s2
 The relationship between applied force
and pressure
 A force can produce a high or low pressure depending on the area upon
which the force is being exerted.
If we reduce the area upon which the force is exerted, this will create a
high pressure. For example, the reason why a thumbtack is able to be
pushed into a board is because the tip of the thumbtack exerts a high
pressure on the board. This is because the force applied is concentrated
on a small area of the thumbtack.  
Reducing the area to increase pressure is also helpful for activities such as
cutting with a knife, sewing and hammering nails into wood. 

Alternatively, if we increase the area, we can reduce the pressure. For

example, the large surface area of flip flops prevents a person from
sinking into sand at the beach. 
 Calculating Pressure
 Example- A force of 40N acts over an area of 2 m2 . Calculate the pressure.

Pressure= force/area
               = 40/2
               = 20 Pa

By rearranging the formula, we can also calculate force and area

Force = Area x Pressure 

Area= Force/Pressure
Questions to Try!
 1. If a force of 2000N acts on an area of 1.5 m2, calculate the pressure.
 2. A woman applies a pressure of 200N onto a door with her hand. If her
hand has an area of     0.02 m2 , what is the force being exerted?
 3. A 60N block exerts 20 Pa of pressure on a table. What is the area of the
block that is touching the table?
 Explain why partially covering the opening of a garden hose with your
finger increases the pressure of the water coming out of it.