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The Inverse Square Law of Universal Gravitation: - Inversely - Inversely - Square - Square

The document discusses Newton's law of universal gravitation and its inverse square relationship. It provides examples of calculating gravitational force between objects when properties like mass and distance between objects are varied. Learners are asked to use the inverse square law conceptually to calculate new gravitational forces based on given initial forces and changes to mass and/or distance.

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Anthony Quan
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387 views

The Inverse Square Law of Universal Gravitation: - Inversely - Inversely - Square - Square

The document discusses Newton's law of universal gravitation and its inverse square relationship. It provides examples of calculating gravitational force between objects when properties like mass and distance between objects are varied. Learners are asked to use the inverse square law conceptually to calculate new gravitational forces based on given initial forces and changes to mass and/or distance.

Uploaded by

Anthony Quan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Circular and Satellite Motion Name:

The Inverse Square Law of Universal Gravitation


Read from Lesson 3 of the Circular and Satellite Motion chapter at The Physics Classroom:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/u6l3b.cfm
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/u6l3c.cfm
MOP Connection: Circular Motion and Gravitation: sublevels 6 and 7

1. Isaac Newton compared


the acceleration of a falling
apple to the acceleration of
the falling moon. In his
comparison, he proved
that the moon accelerates
at a rate that is 1/3600-th
of the apple's rate; he also
showed that the separation
distance (center to center)
between the moon and the
Earth was 60 times the
separation distance
between the apple and the
Earth. This is evidence
that the acceleration caused by gravity is ____inversely____ (directly, inversely) dependent upon
the ____square____ (square, square root, cube, cubed root, etc.) of the separation distance.

Use Newton's gravitational law in a conceptual manner in order to fill in the following blanks.
2. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N. If the distance between the two objects'
centers is doubled, then the new force of attraction is ___4.5___ N.

3. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N. If the distance between the two objects'
centers is tripled, then the new force of attraction is ___2.0___ N.

4. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N. If the distance between the two objects'
centers is halved, then the new force of attraction is ___72.0___ N.

5. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N. If the distance between the two objects'
centers is decreased by a factor of three, then the new force of attraction is ___162.0___ N.

6. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N. If the distance between their centers is
decreased by a factor of four, then the new force of attraction is ___288.0___ N.

7. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N.


If the mass of one of the objects is doubled and the
distance between their centers is doubled, then the new
force of attraction is ___9.0___ N.

8. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N.


If the masses of both of the objects are doubled and the
distance between their centers is doubled, then the new
force of attraction is ___18.0___ N.

9. Two objects gravitationally attract with a force of 18.0 N. If the masses of both of the objects are
tripled and the distance between the two objects' centers is doubled, then the new force of attraction
is ___40.5___ N.

© The Physics Classroom, 2020 Page 1

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