Universal Gravitation Lab 121

Go to the following website and follow the instructions provided for the first part, DISTANCE:

https://sites.google.com/site/delseaphysics1/Home/forces/gravity/gravity-vs-distance

YOUR GROUP WILL SUBMIT ONE COPY OF THIS LAB ONLY.

PART 1: DISTANCE

1. Follow the instructions provided on the website to work your way through the first lab activity. Record the
values you choose for mass below, and fill in the table provided for your experimental numbers.

PLANET 1 PLANET 2
COMPOSITION OF PLANET
RADIUS (m)
VOLUME (m3)
MASS (kg)
THESE PARAMETERS WILL REMAIN CONSTANT FOR THIS LAB!

DISTANCE OF SEPARATION (m) FORCE (N)**

**Be sure to pay attention to the units on the force as you change the distance…report it in the same way every time!
Recall that μN means x10-6 N.

Questions:

1. Graph your data with the distance on x and the force on y. Include a line or curve of best fit with an equation.
𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
2. Explain why, using Newton’s formula for universal gravitation(𝐹𝑔 = ) , it makes sense that this graph
𝑟2
looks the way it does.
𝑘
3. An inverse square graph follows the general formula 𝑦 = 𝑥 2 , where “k” is a proportionality constant. Based on
Newton’s formula for universal gravitation, what should “k” be equal to for your graph? Check by calculating
using the constants you recorded at the beginning of the lab.
 4. Based on your data, if you triple the distance between two objects, what will happen to the force of gravity
between them? Explain your answer/show your work.
5. Based on your data, if you increase the force of gravity between two objects by a factor of 16, what happens to
the distance between them? Explain your answer/show your work.
6. How would you manipulate this data to produce a linear graph instead? Explain your answer, and then graph
your data according to your suggestion. Include a line of best fit with an equation.
7. What do you notice about the equation for each of your graphs?

IF YOU COMPLETE EVERYTHING, YOU CAN PLAY WITH ORBITS USING THE SIMULATION TOOL ON THE FOLLOWING SITE!
You can experiment with changing the mass of the planet, the direction and velocity of the moon in orbit (by changing
the direction and the size of the vector) and the how close the moon is to the planet (by clicking other locations in space,
the moon will move). Successful orbits will trace out around the planet, unsuccessful orbits will crash into the planet…

https://academo.org/demos/orbit-simulator/