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Class IX (Gravitation)

Topics in the Chapter

• Introduction
• Newton's Unversal law of Gravitation
→ Relationship between Newton's 3rd law and Newton's law of gravitation
→ Importance of universal law of gravitation
• Free fall of an object and acceleration due to gravity
→ Value of g
→ Relationship between G and g
• Mass
• Weight
• Difference between Mass and Weight
• Factors that affect value of g
• Thrust and Pressure
• Buoyancy
• Density
• Archimede's Principle
→ Application of Archimede's Principle
• Relative density
• Solved Numericals

Introduction

→ Gravitational Force of Earth: If we release a small stone without pushing it from a height, it accelerates
towards earth.

→ The stone is when accelerated towards earth, means some force is acting on it. The force which pulls the
objects towards the centre of the earth is known as gravitational force of the earth.

→ Here, stone also attracts earth. It means every object in universe attracts every other object.
Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

→ Sir Isaac Newton in 1687 proposed a law about the force of attraction between the two objects in the
universe which is known as Newton’s law of gravitation.

According to Universal law of Gravitation

→ Every mass in this universe attracts every other mass with a force which is directly proportional to the
product of two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
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• Let masses (M) and (m) of two objects are distance (d) apart, then force of attraction (F) between them

F ∝ M×m
F ∝ 1/d2
F ∝ Mm/d2
F = (GMm)/d2

where,
G is a constant and is known as Gravitational constant.
Value of G = 6.67×10-11 Nm2/kg2
G is called universal gravitational constant.

→ If unit of F is in Newton, m is in kg, d is in metre, then unit of G can be calculated as :

G = (F×d2)/Mm, therefor unit will be Nm2/kg2

Relation between Newton’s third law of motion and Newton’s law of gravitation

→ According to Newton’s third law of motion, “Every object exerts equal and opposite force on other object
but in opposite direction.”

→ According to Newton’s law of gravitation, “Every mass in the universe attracts the every other mass.”

→ In case of freely falling stone and earth, stone is attracted towards earth means earth attracts the stone.

→ But according to Newton’s third law of motion, the stone should also attract the earth.
It is true that stone also attracts the earth with the same force F = m × a but due to very less mass of the
stone, the acceleration (a) in its velocity is 9.8 m/s2 and acceleration (a) of earth towards stone is 1.65×10-
24
m/s2 which is negligible and we cannot feel it.

Importance of universal law of gravitation

(i) The force that binds us to the earth.

(ii) The motion of moon around the earth.
(iii) The motion of earth around the sun.
(iv) The tides due to moon and the sun.

Free fall of an object and acceleration (g)

→ When an object is thrown upward, it reaches certain height, then it starts falling down towards earth. It is
because the earth’s gravitational force exerts on it.

→ This fall under the influence of earth is called ‘free fall of an object’.

→ During this free fall direction do not change but velocity continuously changes which is called acceleration
due to gravity. It is denoted by ‘g’.

→ Its unit is same as acceleration m/s2.

Gravitational Acceleration and its value at the surface of earth

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→ The uniform acceleration produced in a freely falling object due to the gravitational force of earth, is
called acceleration due to gravity.

→ It is represented by ‘g’ and it always acts towards the centre of the earth.

Value of ‘g’ on the surface of earth

→ The force acting on an object is F = (GMem)/R2 .... (i)

where,
Me = Mass of earth
m = Mass of an object
R = Radius of earth
If acceleration due to gravity is ‘g’ due to force F then, F = m×g .... (ii)

Relationship and difference between ‘G’ and ‘g’

G = Gravitational constant
g = Acceleration due to gravity
g = GM/R2

Difference between G (Gravitational constant) and g (Acceleration due to gravity)

Gravitation Constant (G) Gravitational acceleration (g)

-11 2 2
Its value is 6.67×10 Nm /kg . Its value is 9.8 m/s2.
Its value remains constant always and everywhere. Its value varies at various places.
Its unit is Nm2/kg2. Its unit is m/s2.
It is a scalar quantity. It is a vector quantity.

Example: If two stones of 150 gm and 500 gm are dropped from a height, which stone will reach the surface
of earth first and why ? Explain your answer.

Solution

→ It was Galileo, who first time demonstrated and depicted that the acceleration of an object falling freely
towards earth does not depend on the mass of the
object.

→ It can be verified by universal law of gravitation. Let an object of mass m, is allowed to fall from a
distance of R, from the centre of the earth.
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Then, the gravitational force, F = (GMem)/R2 (Me= Mass of the earth)

The force acting on the stone is F = m×a
∴ m × a = (GMem)/R2
⇒ a = GMe/R2

→ So, acceleration in an object falling freely towards earth depends on the mass of earth and height of the
object from the centre of the earth.

So, stones of mass 150 gm and 500 gm will reach the earth surface together.

Equation of motion when an object is falling freely towards earth or thrown vertically upwards

Case 1: When an object is falling towards earth with initial velocity (u)

Velocity (v) after t seconds, v = u + ght

Height covered in t seconds, h = ut + ½gt 2
Relation between v and u when t is not given: v2 = u2 + 2gh

Case 2: When object is falling from rest position means initial velocity u=0

Velocity (v) after t seconds, v = gt

Height covered in t seconds, h = ½gt 2
Relation between v and u when t is not given: v2 = 2gh

Case 3: When an object is thrown vertically upwards with initial velocity u, the gravitational
acceleration will be negative (-g)

Velocity (v) after t seconds, v = u − gt

Height covered in t seconds, h = ut − ½gt2
Relation between v and u when t is gven: v2 = u2 − 2gh

Mass

→ The mass of a body is the quantity of matter contained in it. Mass is a scalar quantity which has only
magnitude but no direction.

→ SI unit of mass is kilogram which is written in short form as kg.

• Mass of a body is constant and does not change from place to place.
• Mass of a body is usually denoted by the small ‘m’.
• Mass of a body cannot be zero.

Weight

→ The force with which an object is attracted towards the centre of the earth, is called the weight of the
object.

Force = m × a
In case of earth, a = g
∴ F = m× g
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But the force of attraction of earth on an object is called its weight (W).
∴W=m×g

→ Weight is the force and its SI unit is Newton (N). It depends on ‘g’ and is a vector quantity.

Relation between 1 kg wt and express it into Newton

We know that W = m × g
If mass (m) = 1 kg, g = 9.8 m/s2, then
W = 1 kg × 9.8 m/s2
⇒ 1 kg wt = 9.8 N

→ The gravitational force of earth that acts on an object of mass 1 kg is called as 1 kg wt.

Distinguish between Mass and Weight

Mass Weight
Mass of an object can be measured by its inertia. Weight = mass × acceleration (m×g).
The total quantity of matter contained in an object The gravitational force by which earth attracts an object
is called mass of an object. is called weight of the object.
Mass of the object remains constant at all the places Weight of the object is different at different places.
Measurement of mass is done by using a pan or Measurement of weight is done by using a spring
beam balance. balance.
Mass does not change even value of g is zero at any
Weight of the object becomes zero if g is zero.
place.

Factors affecting value of g

→ Earth is not a perfect sphere. The radius of earth increases when we go from pole to equator.
→ Therefore, we can take g as constant at the surface of earth or closer to it. But, as we move away from
earth, we can use equation g = GM/d2 for solving problems.

Example: Calculate the value of ‘g’ at a height of 12800 km from the centre of the earth (radius of earth is
6400 km). Draw its interpretation.

Solution

We know that
g1 = (GMe)/(2Re)2
R
e= 6400 km
Weight of the object from the centre of earth = 12800 km = 2R e
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