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4.4 Weight
According to Newtons law of gravitation, an object on the surface of the earth is being
pulled towards the centre of the earth by a force of
.
1
Here, M is the mass of the earth, m is the mass of the object and R is the radius of the earth;
here is a vector from the centre of the earth to the object. For objects on, or close to, the
surface of the earth
and is called the weight of the object; g is the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity.
Usually this equation is written in the form
where g is the acceleration due to gravity and is considered to be directed towards the
centre of the earth.
4.8 Work to do
Question 1: We are normally concerned with the effects of gravity very close to the surface
of the earth. What happens to the acceleration due to gravity, g, at a height h above the
surface of the earth, where R represents the earth's radius? (Because the earth is a sphere,
you can assume that its mass acts at its centre).
Question 2: Sometimes we can assume that an object undergoes a constant acceleration, a.
Derive expressions that relate:
a) the speed, v, of an object to a and distance, s.
b) v to a and time, t
c) s to a and t.
You will need to introduce the following boundary conditions: the initial value (i.e. when t =
0) of v = vo and the initial value of s = so.
Hint: To do (a) read the hint for doing Question 4 in the notes for Lecture 3.
Be careful never to use these results unless you are sure that it is reasonable to assume a
constant acceleration.
Question 3: Problem F13-5 (page 121) from: R C Hibbeler, Engineering mechanics:
dynamics, in SI units, Pearson 2013. To do this problem, you will have to read the subsection entitled Springs of the Hibbeler Statics and mechanics of materials book, on
page 162 (4th Edition, 2014).
Dont look at the answers (on Canvas) until you have either solved, or made several serious
attempts to solve, the problems.