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h Gravitation Notes Part 2

h Gravitation Notes Part 2

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ARSHAD JAMIL
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86 views

h Gravitation Notes Part 2

h Gravitation Notes Part 2

Uploaded by

ARSHAD JAMIL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER - 10

GRAVITATION – Part 2
Free Fall
When an object falls from any height under the influence of gravitational force only, it is
known as free fall. Such objects are called freely falling objects.

Acceleration Due to Gravity


The acceleration with which an object falls towards the earth only due to the gravitational
pull of the earth is called acceleration due to gravity.

The acceleration due to gravity is denoted by g.

The unit of g is same as the unit of acceleration, i.e., ms−2

Mathematical Expression for g:


Consider an object of mass ‘m’ placed near the surface of the earth.

From the Universal Law of Gravitation


The force of attraction between the object and the earth is given by,
F = 𝑮𝑴𝒎 ……………….(i)
𝑹𝟐

(Where M – is mass of earth; R – radius of the earth)

This force produces an acceleration ‘a’ in the object.

From the second law of motion,

F = ma

For free fall, acceleration is replaced by acceleration due to gravity. Therefore, force
becomes:

F = mg ……………………(ii)

From (i) and (ii)


𝑮𝑴𝒎
= 𝒎𝒈
𝑹𝟐

⸫ 𝒈 = 𝑮𝑴 ……………(iii)
𝟐 𝑹

Note : This implies that g does not depend on the mass of an object . All objects
irrespective of their masses fall with a constant acceleration towards the earth.
To Calculate the Value of g

Value of universal gravitational constant, G = 6.7 × 10–11 N m2/ kg2,

Mass of the earth, M = 6 × 1024 kg, and

Radius of the earth, R = 6.4 × 106 m

Putting all these values in equation (iii), we get:

Thus, the value of acceleration due to gravity of the earth, g = 9.8 ms-2

Factors Affecting the Value of g


• As the radius of the earth increases from the poles to the equator, the value of g becomes
greater at the poles than at the equator.
• As we go at large heights, value of g decreases.

Motion of Objects Under the Influence of Gravitational Force of the


Earth
Consider an object falling towards earth with an initial velocity u. Let its velocity,
under the effect of gravitational acceleration g, change to v after covering height h in
time t.
Then the three equations of motion can be represented as:
• 𝒗 = 𝒖 + 𝒈𝒕
𝟏
• 𝒉 = 𝒖𝒕 + 𝒈𝒕𝟐
𝟐
• 𝒗𝟐 − 𝒖𝟐 = 𝟐𝒈𝒉

The value of g is taken as positive in the case of object moving towards earth and
taken as negative in the case of object is thrown in opposite direction of earth

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