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 ÿ one of the fundametnal interaction in our universe
is first studied by the German astronomer Kepler (1517 ÿ
1630), who made prolonged and accurate observations over
20 years and arrived at a complete description of planetary
moiton round the sun. $%&( ((%"()

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Every planet moves in an orbit, with the sun at
.

Sun Earth
Earth
Satellite
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àhe line (radius vector) joining a planet to the sun sweeps
out equal in equal intervals of time.

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àhe of the period of revolution of any planet going
round the sun is the of its average
distance from the sun,i.,e,
Eq.(1)

· Sample data for some planets are given below:

 (*( (( —.

)(+(— ,)- +(
,- ,)(/

-
4ercury 1.79 R 1010 7.60 R 106
Venus 1.08 R 1011 1.94 R 107
Earth 1.49 R 1011 3.16 R 107
|

   
Kepler's laws are explained until the foundation of  


  
 

 is established.
(  &   + 
Xetween any two particles of matter in the universe, there is
a force of gravitational attraction which is
the of the of the two particles and
the of the distance
between them. Furthermore, the forces always act along
the line .
˜u
£1
£2
or ˜o Eq.(2)

where ? o , which is called the

.
· ? is a constant that is the matter
involved.

· Since ˜ is inversely proportioanal to the of the

, it is also said to be an
  
 
.

· àhough the law is adopted to point particles, it can be

shown that the force exerted at an external point of a
sphere of density (or a sphere componsed of
uniform ) was the same as if its whole
mass were concentrated at its .

· For a point ï  a uniform sphere, it

can be shown that spherical shell of
radius than produces 
gravitational force at ï
àhe gravitational ïV
force at ï is due entirely to the sphere of
radius .
( M $%&   
· ëonsider a planet of mass £ moves with
speed  in a   of radius round the £ 
sun of mass  as shown.
· àhe gravitational attraction on the planet is
˜ 
· àhis force provides the for circular
motion, so

· If à is the period of the motion, we have  o ,

so

Hence,
( !0) 1+
· 1993-IIA-11
For planets or satellites in circular orbits around a celestial body
such as the sun of the earth, the period à is related to the radius of
the orbit by Kepler¶s third Law, à2 o 3 where is a constant.
Which of the following statements concerning the constant is
correct?
A. It is a dimensionless constant whose value is not affected by the
choice of units.
X. It is a universal constant whose value is not affected by the
choice of units.
ë. It is a universal constant whose value depends on the choice of
units.
D. It would have a certain value for the earth moving around the
sun, but a different value for another planet moving around the
sun.
E. It would have a certain value for all planets moving around the
sun, but a different value for all satellites moving around the
earth.
( Õ  +   
· ëonsider the earth of mass £ moving with speed 
round the sun of mass £ in a circular orbit of radius ,
estimate the mass of the sun if  o 1.5 R 1011 m and ? 
6.67 R 10-11 N m-2 kg-2.

· ëonsider the moon of mass ££ moving with speed £

round the earth of mass £ in a circular orbit of radius
 estiamte the mass of the earth if o 4.0 R 108 m and
£ £
-11 -2
?  6.67 R 10 N m kg . -2
|
    r
(  
A gravitational field is a created by a body of non-
zero and in which any other bodies also with non-zero
will experience a force of .

(    r

àhe strength of a gravitational field at a point is defined as
the acting on placed at that
point, i.e.,

· If the mass
 under gravity, its acceleration at that

point would be according to .
· We thus have two ways looking at , depending one
whether the body considered is
  or


 
.
(  2  r 

· Assuming the earth behaves as of its
whole mass  were concentrated at its 
centre , then the gravitational force pull ï
of the earth on a body of mass £ placed
at ï whcih is at a distance from  is
˜o
· thus by definition, the graviational field strength at ï is

o Eq.(3)

· Note that near the earth surface, we have

o o Eq.(4)

where  is the and o o .

( !0) 1+
· 2003-IIA-11
Given the universal gravitational constant is 6.7 R 10-11 N m2 kg-2
and the radius of the earth is 6.4 R 106 m, what is the average
density of the earth?
A. 5.6 R 103 kg m-3
X. 7.3 R 103 kg m-3
ë. 2.3 R 104 kg m-3
D. 6.0 R 1024 kg m-3

· 2004-IIA-7
A planet has a diameter 2 times that of the earth and a mass 3
times that of the earth. What is the approximate gravitational field
strength, in N kg-1, on the planet¶s surface?
A. 7.5
X. 10
ë. 15
D. 30
· 2005-IIA-28
An object of mass 5.0 kg has a weight of 8.2 N on the surface of
the moon. àhe radius of the moon is . What is the gravitational
field strength, in N kg-1, at point distance 2 from the centre of the
moon? (Assume that the moon is a sphere of uniform density.)
A. 1.6 X. 0.8 ë. 0.4 D. 0.2
(   r  +
· !0 *
At an external point ï that is from the centre of the
earth,
o ï
which varies as the of V
the distance .

·  *

At an internal point ï that is from the centre of the
earth,
o where  
ïV
so o

which varies as the distance .

Xy assuming the earth to a perfect
without , the variation of  with location is
summarized by the following graph.

 

Earth
(   r  +
àhe observed variation of o over trhe earths surface is
largely due to the following.
· àhe of the earths .
· àhe shape of the earth. àhe equatorial
radius is in fact than the polar radius by .
àherefore, gravitational pulls on objects placed at
equator are than those placed at the pole.
· àhe effect of . An object at

 point of the earth¶s surface (except at the )
must have a force acting on it, which is
to the motion of the object. On a
stationary earth, the

 gravitational pull which
arises from the force on a body must
the gravitational pull. However, due to the earth¶s
rotation, the supporting force and the gravitational force
must be so that a force providing
the force has to be produced.
 m


Equator

axis

Again, the

 gravitational pull on a body

from the pole down to the equator.
( !0) 1+
· 1989-IIA-11
Assuming the Earth to be a perfect sphere, what would its angular
velocity of rotation have to be for an object at the equator to be
weightless (i.e. to give a spring balance reading of zero)?
(Radius of the Earth o 6.4 R 106 m.)

A. 2.4 R 10-12 rad s-1

X. 1.6 R 10-6 rad s-1
ë. 1.3 R 10-3 rad s-1
D. 8.0 R 102 rad s-1
E. 6.4 R 105 rad s-1
|
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àhe gravitational potential energy ` stored in a system of two
masses  and £ separated at a distanace can be defined in
two ways.
( M 
` is defined as the requried to bring £
from a point to a point of distance from .

( M 
` is defined as the of when
£ is brought from a point to a point of distance
from .

· Since the gravitational attraction between the masses is

zero when they are , we conventionally
take a point as the reference point.
( M   % "

 +ve £

0

· Xy definition, if ˜ is the (magnitude of) gravitational

force acting on £, then

· Substitiing ˜ into the integral, we have

Eq.(5)
( !0) 1+
· 1992-IIA-5
An object of mass £ is released from a spacecraft at a distance 3
from the center of the Earth which has radius  and mass . On
reaching the Earth¶s surface, the increase in kinetic energy of the
object is

A. ?£/(3)
X. 2?£/(3)
ë. ?£/(2)
D. ?£
E. 2?£
|
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· A 

 
 is a natural astronomical body that
orbits round a . For example, the is
the earth's only satellite, while 4ars has two satellites,
and Jupiter has at least fourteen satellites.

· An
 
 
 is a man-made spacecraft that

orbits round a planet. At suitable and orbiting ,
a satellite can orbit round the planet by only making use
of the between the satellite and the
planet.

· A   ( ) 
 is an artificial

satellite that always appears above a certain
location on a planet. àhey are commonly used in
telecommunications.
 ( +*  * 
· ào be placed in orbit a satellite must be raised to the
desired height and given the correct speed and direction
by the rocket, which is first lift off
on the planet¶s surface.
· After penetrating the atmosphere, the rocket is gradually
by the guidance system.
· At the orbital height, the second stage rocket then fires
and the speed to that required for a circular
orbit at that height.
· For a satellite of mass £ travelling with speed  in a
circular orbit of radius , we have

and hence the orbital speed should be

+*(%((2
( !0) 1+
· 1997-IIA-10
A low altitude satellite near the earth¶s surface has a speed of 7.9
km s-1. àhe radius of the earth is about 4 times that of the moon
and the ratio of the average density of the earth to that of the moon
is about 5 : 4. àhe speed of a low-altitude satellite near the moon¶s
surface would be
A. 1.77 kms-1 X. 2.21 kms-1 ë. 2.47 kms-1
D. 3.57 kms-1 E. 4.42 kms-1

· 2000-IIA-9
è and are two planets. Each of them has a low altitude satellite
revolving in a circular orbit close to the planet. If the two satellites
are observed to have the same period, then è and must have
nearly the same
A. mass. X. average density. ë. radius.
D. acceleration due to gravity at the planet¶s surface.
E. gravitational potential at the planet¶s surface.
( 3 2
· àhe orbit for a satellite round a
planet is called a 
  .

· A certain planet has only one parking orbit which has a

definite in the plane, in which the
gravitational force gives the force required.

· For the earth, the period of the satellite is s.

Xy taking ?  6.67 R 10-11 N m-2 kg-2 and the mass of
the earth as 6 R 1024 kg, the radius of the parking orbit is
m.

àhe speed of the satellite in the parking orbit should be

m s-1.
( !0) 1+
· 1993-IIA-12
A communication satellite appears stationary vertically above an
observer at the equator. àhe height of the satellite above the
observer is 3.6 R 107 m. ëalculate the mass of the earth.
Given: Radius of the Earth o 6400 km
Gravitational constant  6.67 R 10-11 N m-2 kg-2

A. 4.5 R 10-24 kg
X. 5.0 R 10-24 kg
ë. 5.5 R 10-24 kg
D. 6.0 R 10-24 kg
E. 6.5 R 10-24 kg
( Õ

· When an astronaut is inside a satellite in a circular orbit

round a planet, he must have the same
acceleration as that of the satellite, which is just equal to
the at the height of orbit.
àherefore, the   of the astronaut is used to
provide the force required, and so the
force on him is zero. àhe of
weight is totally lost in such case and he is therefore
said to be apparently weightless.

· An astronaut is said to be   weightless only when

he is in the where the
on him is absent, i.e., .
( !"    **+ 2
· As discussed previously, the launching speed  for a
given  
orbit of radius round a planet of mass 
is given by  o . Any values of  differ from this
would result in orbits of other shape.
· àhe þ given in launching a satellite of mass £ in
circular orbit should therefore equal .
· Since the ` of the satellite (and the planet) in the orbit is
a constant equals , the total energy of
the satellite (and the planet) is .
· Owing to the  of air, however, would
 
 (becoming more ), and hence
V the radius of the orbit must ,
V the kinetic energy þ would ,
V the potential energy ` would ,
i.e, the satellite would to the earth's surface
.
( !0) 1+
· 1994-IIA-11
àwo satellites m and of the same mass are moving in circular
orbits round the earth. àhe radius of m¶s orbit is and that of ¶s
orbit is 2 . àheir total mechanical energies are m and
respectively. Which of the following descriptions about m and
is correct? (Gravitational potential energy is taken to be zero at
infinity)
A. m > 0 and o2 m X. m > 0 and o 1/2 m
ë. m > 0 and o -2 m D. m < 0 and o2 m
E. m < 0 and o 1/2 m

· 2003-IIA-12
A satellite of mass £ is launched from the earth¶s surface into an
orbit at a height of 3 above the earth¶s surface, where  is the
radius of the earth. What is the gravitational potential energy
gained by the satellite during this process?
A. £ / 3 X. £ / 4 ë. 2£ / 3 D. 3£ / 4
· 2002-IIA-12
Due to air resistance, changes may occur to a satellite orbiting the
earth (assume nearly circular orbit). Which of the following
changes below is **4
A. àhe total mechanical energy of the satellite will decrease.
X. àhe angular momentum of the satellite about the earth¶s centre
will decrease.
ë. àhe linear speed of the satellite will increase.
D. àhe time needed for the satellite to complete one revolution will
increase.
( !*% %
· If the initial þ given to a satellite is than the
value of ` at the point of projection, the total energy of
the satellite is , which will give rise to an
 orbit.
· àhe projected speed  at which a satellite of mass £
can  escape at a distance from the centre of a
planet of mass  is obtained by

· In particular near the earth¶s surface, the escape speed

is

· Air molecules at s.t.p. have an average speed of about

0.5 km s-1, and therefore, they escape.
· A black hole has an escape speed equals the speed of
, so it is always .
( +* *  2


part of ellipse


planet

circle


parabola
 Ellipse

hyperbola

( !0) 1+
· 1993-IIA-10
àhe velocity of escape from the earth is „o. For a planet with
radius twice that of the earth and with density three times that of
the earth, the velocity of escape from the planet would be
A. ù3„ / 2 X. 2„ ë. ù6„
D. 2ù3„ E. 2ù6„

· 1995-IIA-11
On a certain planet, and object is thrown vertically upwards with an
initial velocity of 1 and it returns to the ground after time . If the
velocity of escape from the planet is 2, find the radius of the planet.
A. 212 / 2 X. 412 / 2 ë. 222 / 1
D. 22 / 41 E. 22 / 21