Gravitation Notes (Till Mass and Weight)

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GRADE 9
SUBJECT- SCIENCE
CHAPTER- GRAVITATION
What is the Centripetal Force?

● An object in circular motion keeps on changing its direction.
● Due to this, the velocity of the object also changes.
● A force called Centripetal Force acts upon the object that keeps it moving in a circular path.
● The centripetal force is exerted from the centre of the path.
● Without the Centripetal Force objects cannot move in circular paths, they would always travel
straight.
● For Example, The rotation of the Moon around the Earth is possible because of the centripetal force
exerted by Earth.
Newton's Observations:
● Why does Apple fall on Earth from a tree? – Because the earth attracts it towards itself.
● Can Apple attract the earth? - Yes. It also attracts the earth as per Newton's third law (every
action has an equal and opposite reaction). But the mass of the earth is much larger than Apple's
mass thus the force applied by Apple appears negligible and Earth never moves towards it.
● Newton thus suggested that all objects in this universe attract each other. This force of attraction
is called Gravitational Force.
Universal Law of Gravitation by Newton
● According to the universal law of gravitation, every object attracts every other object with a
force.
● This force is directly proportional to the product of their masses.
● This force is inversely proportional to the square of distances between them.
● Consider the figure given below. It depicts the force of attraction between two objects with
masses m₁ and m₂ respectively that are ‘d’ distance apart.
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Mathematical derivation of universal law of gravitation:
From the above equation we can rewrite them as the following:
If we remove the proportionality we get proportionality constant G as the following:
The above equation is the mathematical representation of Newton’s Universal Law of gravitation
Hence, G = Fr2/ m₁ m₂
SI Unit: Nm2 kg-2
Value of G = 6.673 × 10-11 Nm2 kg-2 (was found out by Henry Cavendish (1731- 1810))
The proportionality constant G is also known as the Universal Gravitational Constant
Why do we study the universal law of gravitation?
It explains many important phenomena of the universe –
● Earth’s gravitational force
● Why the moon always moves in a circular motion around the earth and the sun
● Why all planets revolve around the sun
● How the sun and moon can cause tides
Free Fall
Acceleration due to gravity – Whenever an object falls towards the Earth there is an acceleration
associated with the movement of the object. This acceleration is called acceleration due to gravity.
Denoted by: g
SI Unit: m s -²
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We know that, F= ma
Therefore, F = mg
Mathematical derivation of ‘g'-
The force (F) of gravitational attraction on a body of mass m due to earth of mass M and radius R is
given by
We know from Newton’s second law of motion that the force is the product of mass and acceleration.
∴ F = ma
But the acceleration due to gravity is represented by the symbol g. Therefore, we can write
F = mg ….. (2)
From the equation (1) and (2), we get
When the body is at a distance ‘r’ from the centre of the earth then
The Value of ‘g' may vary at different parts of the earth –

● From the equation g = GM/ r2 it is clear that the value of ‘g' depends upon the distance of the
object from the earth's centre.
● This is because the shape of the earth is not a perfect sphere. It is rather flattened at poles and
bulged out at the equator.
● Hence, the value of ‘g' is greater at the poles and lesser at the equator. However, for our
convenience, we take a constant value of ‘g' throughout.
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We can find the value of acceleration due to gravity by the following method:
What is Free Fall?

When an object falls towards the earth due to the earth’s gravity and no other force is acting upon it,
the object is said to be in a free-fall state. Free-falling objects are not even resisted by the air.
g = 9.8 m/s2 is also called the Free-fall Acceleration.
Value of ‘g' is the same on the earth, so the equations of motion for an object with uniform motion are
valid where acceleration ‘a' is replaced by ‘g', as given under:
v = u + gt
s = ut + (1/2) gt²
2gs = v² – u²
Consider the equations of motion given in different scenarios:

When an object at rest falls towards earth – its initial velocity is zero
v = gt
s = t + (1/2) gt²
2gs = v²
When an object with some initial velocity (u) falls towards earth –
v = u + gt
s = ut + (1/2) gt²
2gs = v² – u²
When an object is thrown upwards from the earth – the gravitational force acts in opposite
direction, hence g is negative
v = u - gt
s = ut - (1/2) gt²
-2gs = v² – u²
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Difference between Universal gravitational Constant and Acceleration due to gravity:

Gravitation Constant (G) Gravitational acceleration (g)
1. Its value is 6.67×10-11Nm²/kg². Its value is 9.8 m/s².
2. It is a scalar quantity. It is a vector quantity
3. Its value remains constant always and everywhere. Its value varies at various places.
4. Its unit is Nm²/kg². Its unit is m/s².
Difference between mass and weight:

1. Mass is defined as the quantity of 1. The weight of an object is the force by which
matter in an object. the gravitational pull of the earth attracts the
object.
2. Mass is a scalar quantity. 2. Weight is a vector quantity.
3. The mass of an object is always 3. The weight of an object can vary at different
constant as it depends upon the inertia locations because of the change in
of the object. gravitational force of the earth.
4. Mass can never be zero. 4. Weight can be zero at places there is no
gravitational force.
5. Denoted as W.
5. Denoted as: m F = mg, where m = mass of object,
a = acceleration due to gravity
Similarly, W is force, so W = mg
6. SI Unit: kg 6. SI unit: N
Weight of an object on the Moon:

Just like the Earth, the Moon also exerts a force upon objects. Hence, objects on the moon also have
some weight. The weight will not be the same as on the earth. So, weight on the Moon can be
calculated as

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1

What is the Centripetal Force?

Mathematical derivation of universal law of gravitation:

From the above equation we can rewrite them as the following:

If we remove the proportionality we get proportionality constant G as the following:

SI Unit: Nm2 kg-2

The Value of ‘g' may vary at different parts of the earth –

What is Free Fall?

Consider the equations of motion given in different scenarios:

Difference between Universal gravitational Constant and Acceleration due to gravity:

Difference between mass and weight:

Weight of an object on the Moon:

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