ST.

MARY’S ENGLISH SCHOOL

CLASS – XI SUBJECT – PHYSICS
CH NAME – GRAVITATION

PRACTICE THE FOLLOWING QUESTION ANSWERS:

Question 1:Why is gravitational potential energy always negative?
Answer- Gravitational potential energy is always negative because gravitational force is
always attractive in nature.

Question 2:At what height above the surface of the earth value of acceleration
due to gravity is reduced to one fourth of its value on the surface of the earth?

Answer-g at h = g =g/4

or,2R – R = h
or,R = h
Question 3:Name two factors which determine whether a planet has atmosphere or
not.
Answer-(i) Acceleration due to gravity at the surface of planet
(ii) Surface temperature of the planet.
Question 4:The gravitational force between two blocks is F what would happen if a
mass of both the blocks as well as distance between them is doubled?

Answer- We know F =

Here m1 = m2 =2m

r1 = r2 = 2r

i.e. force will remains the same.

Question 5:A body is weightless at the centre of earth. Why?
Answer-At the centre of the earth g = o
 Question 6:Where will a body weigh more at Delhi or at Shimla? Why?
Answer-A body will weigh more at Delhi because at higher altitudes the value of g
decreases.
Question 7:On which fundamental law of physics is kepler’s second law is based?

Answer-Law of conservation of angular momentum.

Question 8:Distance between two bodies is increased to three times its original
value. What is the effect on the gravitational force between them?

Answer-Since
r1 r
r2 3r So, force will be decreased to 1/9 times.
Question 9:What is Kepler's law of periods? Show it mathematically.
Answer-It states that the square of the period of revolution of a planet around the sun is
proportional of a planet to the cube of the semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit.

T2 r3

T2 =K r3

where T=time period of evolution

r = length of semi major axis

K=constant for all planets

Question 10:Write down the characteristics of gravitational force.
Answer-(i) It is a central force,
(ii)It is a conservative force,
(iii)It obeys inverse square law,
(iv)It is a universal force and always attractive in nature.
Question 11: Assuming earth to be a uniform sphere,finds an expression for
density of earth in terms of g a n d G.

Answer-Since g =
If earth is uniform sphere of mean density P
g=

or,g =
or, P =
Question 12:If radius of earth is 6400km, what will be the weight of 1 quintal
body if taken to the height of 1600 km above the sea level?

Answer-R = 6400km = 6400 x 103m

h = 1600km
w = mg = 1quintal =100 kg=100x9.8N

weight (w’) = mg’

w’ = mg

w’ = 100x9.8×

w’ = 64x9.8N = 64kg
Question 13:The distance of the planet Jupiter from the sun is 5.2 times that of
the earth. Find the period of the Jupiter’s revolution around the sun.

Ans. Te = 1 year RJ = 5.2 Re

TJ =(5.2) 3/2 x 1year

TJ = 11.86 year

Question 14:Does the escape speed of a body from the earth depend on
(a)the mass of the body,
(b)the location from where it is projected,
(c)the direction of projection,
(d)the height of the location from where the body is launched?
Answer-(a)No
(b) No
(c) No
(d) Yes
Escape velocity of a body from the Earth is given by the relation:
---------------(A) , g = Acceleration due to gravity R = Radius of the Earth
It is clear from equation (A) that escape velocity vesc is independent of the mass of
the body and the direction of its projection. However, it depends on gravitational
potential at the point from where the body is launched. Since this potential
marginally depends on the height of the point, escape velocity also marginally
depends on these factors.

Question 15: Find the escape velocity for an object from the surface of planet whose mass
is 5 times that of earth and radius is 1/3rd that of earth.
Answer-

Question 16:The radii of planet are in ratio 2:3 and their masses are in ratio 1:3, then find
the ratio of escape speeds for the planets.
Answer-
 Question 17:How far away from the surface of earth does the value of g is reduced
to 4% of its value on the surface of the earth Given radius of earth = 6400km

Answer-g at h = g

g at h =
or,2R+2h = 10R

or,2h = 8R

or,h = 4R = 4x6400 = 25,600km.

Question 18:Two uniform solid spheres of radii R and 2R are at rest with their surfaces
just touching. Find the force of gravitational attraction between them if density of
spheres be P?

Answer-Two spheres of density p and radii R and 2R

S = Oo = 2R+R=3R

F=

F=

F=

Question 19:Suppose there existed a planet that went around the sun twice as fast as
the earth. What would be its orbital size as compared to that of the earth?
Answer-Time taken by the Earth to complete one revolution around the Sun,

= 1 year

Orbital radius of the Earth in its orbit, = 1 AU

Time taken by the planet to complete one revolution around the Sun,

Orbital radius of the planet =

From Kepler's third law of planetary motion, we can write:

Hence, the orbital radius of the planet will be 0.63 times smaller than that of the Earth.

Question 20:Which of the following symptoms is likely to afflict an astronaut in space

(a) swollen face, (b) headache, (c) orientational problem?

Answer- (a) A swollen face is caused generally because of apparent weightlessness in

space. Sense organs such as eyes, ears nose, and mouth constitute a person's face. This
symptom can affect an astronaut in space.

(b)Headaches are caused because of mental strain. It can affect the working of an astronaut
in space.

(c)Space has different orientations. Therefore, orientational problem can affect an

astronaut in space.
Question 21:How will you 'weigh the sun', that is estimate its mass? The mean orbital
radius of the earth around the sun is km.

Answer- Orbital radius of the Earth around the Sun, r =

m Time taken by the Earth to complete one revolution around the

Sun,T = 1 year = 365.25 days =

Universal gravitational constant, G =

Thus, mass of the Sun can be calculated using the relation,

Hence, the mass of the Sun is kg.

Question 22:A Saturn year is 29.5 times the earth year. How far is the Saturn from the sun
if the earth is km away from the sun?

Answer- Distance of the Earth from the Sun,

re = Time period of the Earth =

Time period of Saturn,

Distance of Saturn from the Sun =

From Kepler's third law of planetary motion, we have,

For Saturn and Sun, we can write,

Hence, the distance between Saturn and the Sun is .

Question 23:Assuming the earth to be a sphere of uniform mass density, how much
would a body weigh half way down to the centre of the earth if it weighed 250 N on the
surface?
Answer-Weight of a body of mass m at the Earth's surface, W = mg = 250 N

Body of mass m is located at depth,

Where, = Radius of the Earth
Acceleration due to gravity at depth g (d) is given by the relation:

Weight of the body at depth d, =

Question 24:A star 2.5 times the mass of the sun and collapsed to a size of 12 km rotates
with a speed of 1.2 rev. per second. (Extremely compact stars of this kind are known as
neutron stars. Certain stellar objects called pulsars belong to this category). Will an
object placed on its equator remain stuck to its surface due to gravity? (Mass of the sun

= kg).

Answer- Yes
A body gets stuck to the surface of a star if the inward gravitational force is greater than the
outward centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the star.

Gravitational force,

Where,M = Mass of the star =

m = Mass of the body

R = Radius of the star = 12 km = 1.2 ×104 m

Centrifugal force,
 = Angular speed = 2πv

v = Angular frequency = 1.2 rev

Since the body will remain stuck to the surface of the star

Question 25:A rocket is fired from the earth towards the sun. At what distance from the
earth's centre is the gravitational force on the rocket zero? Mass of the sun =

kg, mass of the earth = kg. Neglect the effect of other planets etc. (orbital radius

= m).
Ans- Mass of the Sun, = kg

Mass of the Earth, = kg

Orbital radius, r = m

Mass of the rocket = m

Let x be the distance from the centre of the Earth where the gravitational force acting on
satellite P becomes zero.

From Newton's law of gravitation, we can equate gravitational forces acting on satellite P
under the influence of the Sun and the Earth as:
Question 26:A rocket is fired vertically with a speed of 5 km from the earth's surface.
How far from the earth does the rocket go before returning to the earth? Mass of the
earth = kg; mean radius of the earth m; G= .

Answer- Velocity of the rocket, v = 5 km/s =

m/s Mass of the Earth,

Radius of the Earth,

Height reached by rocket mass, m = h
At the surface of the Earth,
Total energy of the rocket = Kinetic energy + Potential energy

At highest point h, V=0

And, Potential energy =

Total energy of the rocket

From the law of conservation of energy, we have
Total energy of the rocket at the Earth's surface = Total energy at height h
Height achieved by the rocket with respect to the centre of the Earth

Question 27:Two stars each of one solar mass (= kg) are approaching each other
for a head on collision. When they are a distance 109 km, their speeds are negligible. What
is the speed with which they collide? The radius of each star is 104 km. Assume the stars
to remain undistorted until they collide. (Use the known value of G).

Answer- Mass of each star, M =

kg Radius of each star, R =

Distance between the stars, r =

For negligible speeds, v = 0 total energy of two stars separated at distance r

…….(i)
Now, consider the case when the stars are about to collide:

Velocity of the stars = v

Distance between the centers of the stars = 2R

Total kinetic energy of both stars

Total potential energy of both stars

Total energy of the two stars = ...... (ii)

Using the law of conservation of energy, we can write:

Question 28:Two heavy spheres each of mass 100 kg and radius 0.10 m are placed 1.0 m
apart on a horizontal table. What is the gravitational force and potential at the mid point
of the line joining the centers of the spheres? Is an object placed at that point in
equilibrium? If so, is the equilibrium stable or unstable?

Answer-0;–2.7 × 10–8 J /kg;

Yes; Unstable

Explanation

The situation is represented in the given figure:

Mass of each sphere, M = 100 kg

Separation-between the spheres, r = 1m

X is the midpoint between the spheres. Gravitational force at point X will be zero. This is
because gravitational force exerted by each sphere will act in opposite directions.

Gravitational potential at point X:

 Any object placed at point X will be in equilibrium state, but the equilibrium is unstable. This
is because any change in the position of the object will change the effective force in that
direction.

Question 29:If the distance between two bodies is halved, then what will be the change in
force between them?
Answer- the initial distance be r
Final distance =r/2
Let the mass of the two objects be m1 and m2
Universal gravitation constant =G
According to Newton's law of Gravitation F=Gm1 m2/r2
According to Newton's law of Gravitation,
Initial force F=Gm1m2/r2
Therefore, the final force F'=Gm1m2/(r/2)2=4F
Hence, when the distance between the objects is reduced to half, the gravitational force increases four
times.
Question 30:Explain weightlessness in artificial satellite.
Answer-
Question 31:What effect will be on acceleration due to gravity when the earth suddenly
stops rotation? Will this effect be same at every place on the earth?
Answer- ‘g’ will increase in all places except at the poles. This increment will be maximum on
equator.