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State
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Andhra
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Free distribution by Samagra Shiksha, Government of Andhra Pradesh

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 PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Class - IX, Semester - 2
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State Council of Educational Research & Training

Andhra Pradesh
 © Government of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati

First Published 2023

New Impression - 2024

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Commissioner of School Education,
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh.

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Free distribution by Samagra Shiksha, Government of Andhra Pradesh

Printed in India
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 PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Class - IX, Semester - 2

Text Book Development Committee

Sri Praveen Prakash IAS

Principal Secretary to Government Sri. S. Suresh Kumar IAS
Department of School Education, AP Commissioner of School Education , AP

Sri. B. Srinivasa Rao IAS Sri. K. Ravindranath Reddy MA., B.Ed.

State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha, AP Director, Government Textbook Press, AP
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Dr. B. Pratap Reddy MA., B.Ed., Ph.D.

Director, SCERT, AP

Programme Co-ordinators
Dr. G. Kesava Reddy, MSc, MSc, MEd, MPhil, PhD
Prof. C&T, SCERT, AP

Subject Co-ordinator
Dr. Sangoju Rajeswari
Prof. SCERT, AP

Sri D. David Sri M. N. Prakash

Lecturer SCERT, AP Faculty SCERT, AP

Technical Co-ordinator
Dr. Ch.V.S. Ramesh Kumar
Faculty, SCERT-AP

Published by Government of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati.

 Editors for Translation

Dr. Borelli Deva Prasad Raju Dr. K.S.V Krishna Rao

Professor of Physics, Associate Professor Chemistry
Sri Venkateswara University Yogi Vemana University

Dr. Y.P. Venkata Subbaiah

Registrar, Yogi Vemana University

Translators

Sri. R. Sivanageswara Rao Sri. M. Srinivasa Rao

ZPHS, Athota, Kollipara (M), Guntur Dist. Muncipal High School, Gudivada, Krishna Dist.
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Sri. Ajjada Naresh Sri. S. Brahmananda Reddy

ZPHS, Kotyada, Kota (M), E.G. Dist ZPHS, Valicherla, H.M Padu (M),
Prakasam Dist,

Sri. B.V.L.N. Ananda Babu Smt. B. Punyavathi

Govt. High School, Korukonda, E.G. Dist KGBV, Dharmavaram, Satyasai Dist

Sri. GK. Sham Sheer Khan Smt. B.Vijaya Bharathi

ZPHS, Tekumandada, Bangaru Palayam (M), GTWA. GH School, Nelabonthu (M),
Chittoor Dist. Srikakulam Dist

Smt. K. Lakshmana Kumari Sri. K. Sundara Rao

ZPHS, Bhemuni patnam, Visakhapatnam Dist. ZPHS, Karimaddula, Nandyal Dist.

Sri. G. Gangadhar
ZPHS, Chinna Machupalli, Chennuru (M),
Kadapa Dist.

Designing & Page Layout : Stock Assortment, Bapatla.

 Textbook Development Committee
(NCERT)
CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY GROUP FOR TEXTBOOKS IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMAT-
ICS

J.V. Narlikar, Emeritus Professor, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics (IUCCA), Ganeshkhind, Pune University, Pune
CHIEF ADVISOR
V.B. Bhatia, Professor (Retd.) (Physics), Delhi University, Delhi
M EMBERS
Bharati Sarkar, Reader (Retd.) (Zoology), Maitreyi College, Delhi University, Delhi
C. V. Shimray, Lecturer, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics,
(DESM), NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
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Gagandeep Bajaj, Lecturer, Department of Education, SPM College, Delhi

University, Delhi
H.C. Jain, Principal, (Retd.) Regional Institute of Education, Ajmer
Harsh Kumari, Headmistress, CIE Experimental Basic School, Department of
Education, Delhi University, Delhi
J. S. Gill, Professor (Retd.), DESM, NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
Kanhiya Lal, Principal (Retd.), Directorate of Education, Delhi
Lalita S. Kumar, Reader (Chemistry), School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi National
Open University (IGNOU), Maidan Garhi, New Delhi
P.C. Agarwal, Reader, Regional Institute of Education, Ajmer
P.S. Yadava, Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Manipur University, Imphal
Puranchand, Professor and Joint Director (Retd.), Central Institute of
Educational Technology (CIET), NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
R. Joshi, Lecturer (SG), DESM, NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
Rachna Garg, Lecturer, Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET),
NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
Rashmi Sharma, Lecturer, North-East Regional Institute of Education, Shillong
R.K. Parashar, Reader, Regional Institute of Education, Bhubaneshwar
Ruchi Verma, Lecturer, DESM, NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
Shashi Prabha, Lecturer, DESM, NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
Sunila Masih, Teacher, Mitra GHS School, Suhagpur, P.O. Hoshangabad,
Madhya Pradesh

MEMBER- COORDINATOR
R. S. Sindhu, Professor, DESM, NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi
www.apteachers.in
 Preface
This book is the outcome of the efforts of the textbook development committee
appointed by the NCERT. The committee met a few times to interact with one
another to improve the draft. Then there was a review meeting in which many
experts and practicing school teachers were invited to review the draft and suggest
improvements.
By and large we have stuck to the format of the Class VII book. By now famous
characters, Boojho and Paheli, have been used to make the text interactive. Attempt
has been made to recall children’s own experiences and build concepts around
them. This is designed to connect science that they study in the school with their
everyday life.
Many activities have been suggested to clarify concepts. Some of these activities
are so simple that children can perform them on their own. The requirement of the
apparatus required for the activities is minimal. We performed all the activities
ourselves to ensure that there was no difficulty in performing them in the school
situation. The activities should also help children in developing skills such as
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presentation of data in tabular and graphical forms, reasoning and drawing inference
from the given data.
The language of the book has been kept as simple as possible. A large number of
photographs, illustrations, cartoons, etc. have been included to make the book
attractive. To help teachers evaluate children effectively, a large number of exercises
have been given at the end of each chapter. The teachers are encouraged to frame
additional exercises to test children’s understanding. Some challenging exercises
have also been devised for those children who would like to appear for the National
Talent Search Examination conducted by the NCERT.
We are conscious of the fact that there is a paucity of additional reading material
for children. We have tried to address this problem by providing non-evaluative
boxes. These boxes, in light orange, contain additional information, anecdotes,
stories, strange facts and other such interesting materials.
We all know that children are mischievous and playful by nature. Therefore, in
order to prevent any untoward incident during the performance of the activities in
the school or outside, necessary cautions, in magenta, have been inserted at various
places in the book.
To prepare children to assume their roles as responsible citizens of tomorrow,
attempt has been made to sensitise them to the issues concerning gender, religion,
environment, health and hygiene, water scarcity and energy conservation. We have
sought to weave into the text the value of cooperation and the importance of peer
learning.
An important feature of the book is what we call Extended Learning. These are
totally non-evaluative, and purely voluntary activities and projects. Some of the
projects in this section have been designed to enhance children’s interaction with
the experts, teachers, even parents, and society at large. The children are required
to collect information of various kinds and draw conclusions of their own.
My request to teachers and parents is to use the book in the spirit in which it
has been written. Encourage children to perform activities and learn by doing,
rather than by rote. You can supplement, or even replace, the activities given here.
 If you feel that you have better alternatives, especially with your local/regional
flavour, please write to us so that these activities could be used in the future editions
of the book.
We have been able to include only a small subset of children’s experiences. You
have a better knowledge of their experiences because you are in touch with them.
Use them to illustrate the concepts being taught. Above all, please do not stifle
children’s natural curiosity. Encourage them to ask questions, even if sometimes
you feel uncomfortable. If you do not know the answer to a question on the spot, do
not feel embarrassed. You can promise them to find the answer and deal with it
later. Make a genuine attempt to get the answer from whatever resources are within
your reach, such as senior school or college teachers, experts, libraries, internet
etc. If, inspite of your efforts, you cannot get the answer to some question, you could
write to NCERT.
I must thank the NCERT for enabling us to talk to children through the medium
of this book. Every member of the NCERT has been courteous and helpful to us.
In the end, I must express my gratitude to the members of the Editing Team,
who worked tirelessly to help me bring the book to the present form. If you and your
students find this book useful and enjoy teaching/learning science through this
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book, the Editing Team and I shall consider ourselves well-rewarded.

V.B. BHATIA
Chief Advisor
Textbook Development Committee
 Acknowledgements
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
acknowledges the valuable contribution of the individuals and organisations
involved in the development of this book. The Council acknowledges the valuable
contribution of the following academics for reviewing and refining the manuscript
of this book: K.C. Sharma, Reader (Physics), Regional Institute of Education,
Ajmer; Charu Verma, Lecturer (Science), DIET, Pitampura, Delhi; Geeta Bajaj,
TGT (Science), K.V. No. 3, Delhi Cantt., New Delhi; K.D. Sharma, TGT (Science),
R.P.V.V. Civil Lines, Delhi; Manohar Lal Patel, Teacher, Govt. R.N.A. Higher
Secondary School, Pipariya, Madhya Pradesh; Reeta Sharma, Reader (Botany),
Regional Institute of Education, Bhopal; Kamal Deep Peter, OEI, Oracle India,
Bangalore; Puneeta Sharma, TGT (Science), L.D. Jain Girls Senior Secondary
School, Sadar Bazar, Delhi; M.C. Das, Teacher (Science), Govt. Secondary School,
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Zoom, West Sikkim; Deepti Kohli, P.D. Public School, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi;
Sulekha Chandra, Reader (Chemistry), Zakir Husain College, Delhi University,
Delhi; R.S. Tomar, TGT (Science), J.N.V. Mothuka, Faridabad (Haryana); Anjali
Khirwadkar, Lecturer, Department of Education, M.S. University, Baroda (Gujrat);
Suresh Chand, TGT (Science), J.N.V. Ghaziabad Uttar Pradesh; Satheesh H.L.,
TGT (Science), Demonstration School, Regional Institute of Education, Mysore;
Simminder Kaur Thukral, NIIT, Kalkaji, New Delhi; M.M. Kapoor, Professor
(Retd.) (Chemistry), Delhi University, Delhi; Sarita Kumar, Reader (Zoology),
Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi University, Delhi. The contributions of
Pushplata Verma, R.R. Koireng, Pramila Tanvar and Ashish K. Srivastava,
Assistant Professors, are acknowledged for being a part of the review of this
textbook.
The Council gratefully acknowledges the valuable suggestions received from
the National Monitoring Committee in the development of the manuscript of
this textbook.
The dynamic leadership of Professor Hukum Singh, Head, DESM, for
providing guidance at different stages of development of the textbook and
extending infrastructure facilities is highly acknowledged. Special thanks are
due to Shveta Uppal, Chief Editor and Shashi Chadha, Assistant Editor for
going through the manuscript and suggesting relevant changes.
Th e Council also acknowledges th e ef fort s of Deepa k K apo or,
Incharge Computer Station, Inder Kumar, DTP Operator; K.T. Chitralekha,
Copy Editor and Ritu Jha, Proof Reader.
The contributions of APC-office, administration of DESM, Publication
Department and Secretariat of NCERT is also acknowledged.
 A Note for the Students
The team of Paheli and Boojho will be with you as you journey through this
textbook. They love to ask questions. All kinds of questions come to their
minds and they collect them in their sacks. Sometimes, they may share
some of the questions with you, as you read through the chapters.
Paheli and Boojho are also on the lookout for answers to many
questions — sometimes the questions seem answered after they discuss
them with each other, sometimes through discussions with other classmates,
teachers or their parents. Answers to some questions do not seem available
even after all these. They might need to experiment on their own, read
books in the library, send questions to scientists. Just dig and dig and dig
into all possibilities and see if the questions can be answered. Perhaps, they
would carry some of the unanswered questions in their sacks to higher
classes.
What will really thrill them would be your adding questions to their
sacks or answers to their questions. Sometimes, activities are suggested in
the textbook, results or findings of these by different groups of students
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would be of interest to other students and teachers. You can complete the
suggested activities and send your results or findings to Paheli and Boojho.
Do keep in mind that activities that involve using blades, scissors or fire
need to be done strictly under the care of your teachers. Stick to the
precautions given and then enjoy doing all the suggested activities. Mind,
the book will not be able to help you much, if the activities are not completed!
We would like to advise you that you must make observations yourself
and record whatever results you get. Keen and true observations are necessary
for exploring any subject of study. For some reason your results may turn
out to be different from those of your classmates. Do not worry. Try to find
out the reason for these results instead of disregarding them. Do not ever
copy results from your classmate.
You can send your feedback for Paheli and Boojho at:

To
The Head
Department of Education in
Science and Mathematics,
NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi 110016
 CONTENTS Chapter 8
FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION 2

Chapter 9
GRAVITATION 28

Chapter 10
WORK AND ENERGY 54
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Chapter 11
SOUND 108

Teacher Corner Student Corner

 C hapter 8
FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION
In the previous chapter, we described the In our everyday life we observe that some
motion of an object along a straight line in effort is required to put a stationary object into
terms of its position, velocity and acceleration. motion or to stop a moving object. We
We saw that such a motion can be uniform or ordinarily experience this as a muscular effort
non-uniform. We have not yet discovered what and say that we must push or hit or pull on
causes the motion. Why does the speed of an an object to change its state of motion. The
object change with time? Do all motions concept of force is based on this push, hit or
require a cause? If so, what is the nature of pull. Let us now ponder about a ‘force’. What
this cause? In this chapter we shall make an is it? In fact, no one has seen, tasted or felt a
attempt to quench all such curiosities. force. However, we always see or feel the effect
For many centuries, the problem of motion of a force. It can only be explained by
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and its causes had puzzled scientists and describing what happens when a force is
philosophers. A ball on the ground, when given applied to an object. Pushing, hitting and
a small hit, does not move forever. Such pulling of objects are all ways of bringing
observations suggest that rest is the “natural objects in motion (Fig. 8.1). They move because
state” of an object. This remained the belief we make a force act on them.
until Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton From your studies in earlier classes, you
developed an entirely different approach to are also familiar with the fact that a force can
understand motion. be used to change the magnitude of velocity of
an object (that is, to make the object move
faster or slower) or to change its direction of
motion. We also know that a force can change
the shape and size of objects (Fig. 8.2).

(a) The trolley moves along the (b) The drawer is pulled.
direction we push it.
(a)

(b)

(c) The hockey stick hits the ball forward Fig. 8.2: (a) A spring expands on application of force;
Fig. 8.1: Pushing, pulling, or hitting objects (b) A spherical rubber ball becomes oblong
change their state of motion. as we apply force on it.

2 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

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3
 8.1 Balanced and Unbalanced box with a small force, the box does not move
because of friction acting in a direction
Forces opposite to the push [Fig. 8.4(a)]. This friction
force arises between two surfaces in contact;
Fig. 8.3 shows a wooden block on a horizontal
in this case, between the bottom of the box and
table. Two strings X and Y are tied to the two
floor’s rough surface. It balances the pushing
opposite faces of the block as shown. If we
force and therefore the box does not move. In
apply a force by pulling the string X, the block
Fig. 8.4(b), the children push the box harder
begins to move to the right. Similarly, if we pull
but the box still does not move. This is
the string Y, the block moves to the left. But, if
because the friction force still balances the
the block is pulled from both the sides with
pushing force. If the children push the box
equal forces, the block will not move. Such
harder still, the pushing force becomes bigger
forces are called balanced forces and do not
change the state of rest or of motion of an than the friction force [Fig. 8.4(c)].
object. Now, let us consider a situation in There is an unbalanced force. So the box
which two opposite forces of different starts moving.
magnitudes pull the block. In this case, the What happens when we ride a bicycle?
block would begin to move in the direction of When we stop pedalling, the bicycle begins to
the greater force. Thus, the two forces are not slow down. This is again because of the friction
balanced and the unbalanced force acts in the forces acting opposite to the direction of
direction the block moves. This suggests that motion. In order to keep the bicycle moving,
we have to start pedalling again. It thus
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an unbalanced force acting on an object brings

it in motion. appears that an object maintains its motion
under the continuous application of an
unbalanced force. However, it is quite
incorrect. An object moves with a uniform
velocity when the forces (pushing force and
frictional force) acting on the object are
balanced and there is no net external force on
it. If an unbalanced force is applied on the
object, there will be a change either in its speed
or in the direction of its motion. Thus, to
accelerate the motion of an object, an
Fig. 8.3: Two forces acting on a wooden block unbalanced force is required. And the change
in its speed (or in the direction of motion) would
What happens when some children try to continue as long as this unbalanced force is
push a box on a rough floor? If they push the applied. However, if this force is removed

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 8.4

4 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

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X
Y

X
Y

]
[
]

5
 completely, the object would continue to move
with the velocity it has acquired till then.

8.2 First Law of Motion

By observing the motion of objects on an
inclined plane Galileo deduced that objects
move with a constant speed when no force acts
on them. He observed that when a marble rolls
down an inclined plane, its velocity increases
[Fig. 8.5(a)]. In the next chapter, you will learn
that the marble falls under the unbalanced
force of gravity as it rolls down and attains a
definite velocity by the time it reaches the
bottom. Its velocity decreases when it climbs
up as shown in Fig. 8.5(b). Fig. 8.5(c) shows a
marble resting on an ideal frictionless plane
inclined on both sides. Galileo argued that Fig. 8.5: (a) the downward motion; (b) the upward
when the marble is released from left, it would motion of a marble on an inclined plane;
roll down the slope and go up on the opposite and (c) on a double inclined plane.
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side to the same height from which it was

released. If the inclinations of the planes on Newton further studied Galileo’s ideas on
both sides are equal then the marble will climb force and motion and presented three
the same distance that it covered while rolling fundamental laws that govern the motion of
down. If the angle of inclination of the right- objects. These three laws are known as
Newton’s laws of motion. The first law of motion
side plane were gradually decreased, then the
is stated as:
marble would travel further distances till it
An object remains in a state of rest or of
reaches the original height. If the right-side
uniform motion in a straight line unless
plane were ultimately made horizontal (that
compelled to change that state by an
is, the slope is reduced to zero), the marble
applied force.
would continue to travel forever trying to reach In other words, all objects resist a change
the same height that it was released from. The in their state of motion. In a qualitative way,
unbalanced forces on the marble in this case the tendency of undisturbed objects to stay at
are zero. It thus suggests that an unbalanced rest or to keep moving with the same velocity
(external) force is required to change the motion is called inertia. This is why, the first law of
of the marble but no net force is needed to motion is also known as th e law
sustain the uniform motion of the marble. In of inertia.
practical situations it is difficult to achieve a Certain experiences that we come across
zero unbalanced force. This is because of the while travelling in a motorcar can be explained
presence of the frictional force acting opposite on the basis of the law of inertia. We tend to
to the direction of motion. Thus, in practice remain at rest with respect to the seat until
the marble stops after travelling some distance. the driver applies a braking force to stop the
The effect of the frictional force may be motorcar. With the application of brakes, the
minimised by using a smooth marble and a car slows down but our body tends to continue
smooth plane and providing a lubricant on top in the same state of motion because of its
of the planes. inertia. A sudden application of brakes may
thus cause injury to us by impact or collision
with the panels in front. Safety belts are worn

6 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

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[
]

7
 to prevent such accidents. Safety belts exert a
Galileo Galilei was born
force on our body to make the forward motion
on 15 February 1564 in
Pisa, Italy. Galileo, right slower. An opposite experience is encountered
from his childhood, had when we are standing in a bus and the bus
interest in mathematics begins to move suddenly. Now we tend to fall
and natural philosophy. backwards. This is because the sudden start
But his father Vincenzo of the bus brings motion to the bus as well as
Galilei wanted him to to our feet in contact with the floor of the bus.
become a medical doctor. But the rest of our body opposes this motion
Accor dingly , Galileo because of its inertia.
Galileo Galilei
enrolled himself for a (1564 – 1642) When a motorcar makes a sharp turn at a
medical degree at the high speed, we tend to get thrown to one side.
University of Pisa in 1581 which he never This can again be explained on the basis of
completed because of his real interest in the law of inertia. We tend to continue in our
mathematics. In 1586, he wrote his first
straight-line motion. When an unbalanced
scientific book ‘The Little Balance [La
force is applied by the engine to change the
Bal ancitta]’, in which he described
Archimedes’ method of finding the relative direction of motion of the motorcar, we slip to
densities (or specific gravities) of substances one side of the seat due to the inertia of
using a balance. In 1589, in his series of our body.
essays – De Motu, he presented his theories The fact that a body will remain at rest
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about falling objects using an inclined plane unless acted upon by an unbalanced force can
to slow down the rate of descent. be illustrated through th e
In 1592, he was appointed professor of following activities:
mathematics at the University of Padua in the
Republic of Venice. Here he continued his Activity _______________ 8.1
observations on the theory of motion and
through his study of inclined planes and the Make a pile of similar carom coins on
pendulum, formulated the correct law for a table, as shown in Fig. 8.6.
uniformly accelerated objects that the Attempt a sharp horizontal hit at the
distance the object moves is proportional to bottom of the pile using another
carom coin or the striker. If the hit is
the square of the time taken.
strong enough, the bottom coin moves
Galileo was also a remarkable craftsman.
out quickly. Once the lowest coin is
He developed a series of telescopes whose
removed, the inertia of the other coins
optical performance was much better than
makes them ‘fall’ vertically on the
that of other telescopes available during those
table.
days. Around 1640, he designed the first
pendul um cl oc k. In his book ‘S tarry
Messenger’ on his astronomical discoveries,
Galileo claimed to have seen mountains on
the moon, the milky way made up of tiny stars,
and four small bodies orbiting Jupiter. In his
books ‘Discourse on Floating Bodies’ and
‘Letters on the Sunspots’, he disclosed his
observations of sunspots.
Using his own telescopes and through his
observations on Saturn and Venus, Galileo
argued that all the planets must orbit the Sun
Fig. 8.6: Only the carom coin at the bottom of a
and not the earth, contrary to what was
pile is removed when a fast moving
believed at that time. carom coin (or striker) hits it.

8 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 (1564 – 1642)
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--------------------------

9
 Activity _______________8.2 use a one-rupee coin, we find that a lesser force
is required to perform the activity. A force that
Set a five-rupee coin on a stiff card is just enough to cause a small cart to pick up
covering an empty glass tumbler a large velocity will produce a negligible
standing on a table as shown in change in the motion of a train. This is because,
Fig. 8.7. in comparison to the cart the train has a much
Give the card a sharp horizontal flick
lesser tendency to change its state of motion.
with a finger. If we do it fast then the
card shoots away, allowing the coin Accordingly, we say that the train has more
to fall vertically into the glass tumbler inertia than the cart. Clearly, heavier or more
due to its inertia. massive objects offer larger inertia.
Th e in ertia of the coi n tr ies to Quantitatively, the inertia of an object is
maintain its state of rest even when measured by its mass. We may thus relate
the card flows off. inertia and mass as follows:
Inertia is the natural tendency of an object to
resist a change in its state of motion or of rest.
The mass of an object is a measure of its inertia.

Q
uestions
1. Which of the following has more
Fig. 8. 7: When the card is flicked with the
inertia: (a) a rubber ball and a
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finger the coin placed over it falls in the

tumbler. stone of the same size? (b) a
bicycle and a train? (c) a five-
rupees coin and a one-rupee
Activity _______________8.3 coin?
Place a water-filled tumbler on a tray. 2. In the following example, try to
Hold the tray and turn around as fast identify the number of times the
as you can. velocity of the ball changes:
We observe that the water spills. Why? “A football player kicks a football
to another player of his team who
Observe that a groove is provided in a kicks the football towards the
saucer for placing the tea cup. It prevents the goal. The goalkeeper of the
cup from top pling over in case of opposite team collects the football
sudden jerks. and kicks it towards a player of
his own team”.
8.3 Inertia and Mass Also identify the agent supplying
the force in each case.
All the examples and activities given so far 3. Explain why some of the leaves
illustrate that there is a resistance offered by may get detached from a tree if
an object to change its state of motion. If it is we vigorously shake its branch.
at rest it tends to remain at rest; if it is moving 4. Why do you fall in the forward
it tends to keep moving. This property of an direction when a moving bus
object is called its inertia. Do all bodies have brakes to a stop a nd fall
the same inertia? We know that it is easier to backwards when it accelerates
push an empty box than a box full of books. from rest?
Similarly, if we kick a football it flies away. But
if we kick a stone of the same size with equal
force, it hardly moves. We may, in fact, get an
8.4 Second Law of Motion
injury in our foot while doing so! Similarly, in The first law of motion indicates that when an
activity 8.2, instead of a five-rupees coin if we unbalanced external force acts on an object,

10 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 --------------------------
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-------------------------- ?
( ) ( )

11
 its velocity changes, that is, the object gets an on the time rate at which the momentum is
acceleration. We would now like to study how changed.
the acceleration of an object depends on the The second law of motion states that the
force applied to it and how we measure a force. rate of change of momentum of an object is
Let us recount some observations from our proportional to the applied unbalanced force
everyday life. During the game of table tennis in the direction of force.
if the ball hits a player it does not hurt him.
On the other hand, when a fast moving cricket 8.4.1 MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION OF
ball hits a spectator, it may hurt him. A truck
SECOND LAW OF MOTION
at rest does not require any attention when
parked along a roadside. But a moving truck, Suppose an object of mass, m is moving along
even at speeds as low as 5 m s–1, may kill a a straight line with an initial velocity, u. It is
person standing in its path. A small mass, uniformly accelerated to velocity, v in time, t
such as a bullet may kill a person when fired by the application of a constant force, F
from a gun. These observations suggest that throughout the time, t. The initial and final
the impact produced by the objects depends momentum of the object will be, p1 = mu and
on their mass and velocity. Similarly, if an p2 = mv respectively.
object is to be accelerated, we know that a The change in momentum p2 – p1
greater force is required to give a greater mv – mu
velocity. In other words, there appears to exist m (v – u).
some quantity of importance that combines
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the object’s mass and its velocity. One such m (v u )

The rate of change of momentum
property called momentum was introduced by t
Newton. The momentum, p of an object is Or, the applied force,
defined as the product of its mass, m and
velocity, v. That is, m (v u )
F
p = mv (8.1) t

Momentum has both direction and km (v u )

F (8.2)
magnitude. Its direction is the same as that of t
velocity, v. The SI unit of momentum is = kma (8.3)
kilogram-metre per second (kg m s-1). Since
the application of an unbalanced force brings Here a [ = (v – u)/t ] is the acceleration,
a change in the velocity of the object, it is which is the rate of change of velocity. The
therefore clear that a force also produces a quantity, k is a constant of proportionality. The
change of momentum. SI units of mass and acceleration are kg and
Let us consider a situation in which a car m s-2 respectively. The unit of force is so chosen
with a dead battery is to be pushed along a that the value of the constant, k becomes one.
straight road to give it a speed of 1 m s-1, which For this, one unit of force is defined as the
is sufficient to start its engine. If one or two amount that produces an acceleration of
persons give a sudden push (unbalanced force) 1 ms-2 in an object of 1 kg mass. That is,
to it, it hardly starts. But a continuous push 1 unit of force = k (1 kg) (1 m s-2).
over some time results in a gradual acceleration
of the car to this speed. It means that the change Thus, the value of k becomes 1. From Eq. (8.3)
of momentum of the car is not only determined F = ma (8.4)
by the magnitude of the force but also by the
time during which the force is exerted. It may The unit of force is kg m s-2 or newton,
then also be concluded that the force necessary which has the symbol N. The second law of
to change the momentum of an object depends motion gives us a method to measure the force

12 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 m u F t
v
p1 = mu
p2 = mv.
p2 – p1
mv – mu
m (v – u).

m (v u )
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m (v u )
m F
t
v P
p = mv km (v u )
F (8.2)
t

= kma (8.3)
S.I.
a [= (v – u)/t ]
k
S.I.
k

=k (1 ) (1 )
k
F = ma (8.4)

N.

13
 acting on an object as a product of its mass The first law of motion can be
and acceleration. mathematically stated from the mathematical
The second law of motion is often seen in expression for the second law of motion. Eq.
action in our everyday life. Have you noticed (8.4) is
that while catching a fast moving cricket ball,
a fielder in the ground gradually pulls his F = ma
hands backwards with the moving ball? In m (v u )
doing so, the fielder increases the time during or F (8.5)
t
which the high velocity of the moving ball
decreases to zero. Thus, the acceleration of the or Ft = mv – mu
ball is decreased and therefore the impact of That is, when F = 0, v = u for whatever time, t
catching the fast moving ball (Fig. 8.8) is also is taken. This means that the object will
reduced. If the ball is stopped suddenly then continue moving with uniform velocity, u
its high velocity decreases to zero in a very throughout the time, t. If u is zero then v will
short interval of time. Thus, the rate of change also be zero. That is, the object will remain at
of momentum of the ball will be large.
rest.
Therefore, a large force would have to be
applied for holding the catch that may hurt Example 8.1 A constant force acts on an
the palm of the fielder. In a high jump athletic object of mass 5 kg for a duration of 2
event, the athletes are made to fall either on a s. It increases the object’s velocity from
cushioned bed or on a sand bed. This is to 3 m s–1 to 7 m s-1. Find the magnitude
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increase the time of the athlete’s fall to stop of the applied force. Now, if the force was
after making the jump. This decreases the rate applied for a duration of 5 s, what would
of change of momentum and hence the force. be the final velocity of the object?
Try to ponder how a karate player breaks a
slab of ice with a single blow. Solution:
We have been given that u = 3 m s–1 and
v = 7 m s-1, t = 2 s and m = 5 kg. From
Eq. (8.5) we have,
m (v u )
F
t
Substitution of values in this relation
gives
F = 5 kg (7 m s-1 – 3 m s-1)/2 s = 10 N.
Now, if this force is applied for a duration
of 5 s (t = 5 s), then the final velocity can
be calculated by rewriting Eq. (8.5) as
Ft
v u
m
On substituting the values of u, F, m
and t, we get the final velocity,
v = 13 m s-1.

Example 8.2 Which would require a

Fig. 8.8: A fielder pulls his hands gradually with the greater force –– accelerating a 2 kg mass
moving ball while holding a catch. at 5 m s–2 or a 4 kg mass at 2 m s-2 ?

14 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 F = ma
m (v u )
or F (8.5)
t
or Ft = mv – mu
F=0 t
v=u t
u u v
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u = 3 v = 7 ,
t=2 m =

m (v u )
F
t

F= (7 – )/ = 10 N.

(t =

Ft
v u
m
u, F, m, t
v = 13

15
 Solution: Solution:
From Eq. (8.4), we have F = ma. From Eq. (8.4) we have m1 = F/a1; and
Here we have m1 = 2 kg; a1 = 5 m s-2 and m2 = F/a2. Here, a1 = 10 m s-2;
m2 = 4 kg; a2 = 2 m s-2. a2 = 20 m s-2 and F = 5 N.
Thus, F1 = m1a1 = 2 kg 5 m s-2 = 10 N; Thus, m1 = 5 N/10 m s-2 = 0.50 kg; and
and F2 = m2a2 = 4 kg 2 m s-2 = 8 N. m2 = 5 N/20 m s-2 = 0.25 kg.
F1 > F2. If the two masses were tied together, the
Thus, accelerating a 2 kg mass at 5 m s- total mass, m would be
2
would require a greater force. m = 0.50 kg + 0.25 kg = 0.75 kg.
The acceleration, a produced in the
combined mass by the 5 N force would
Example 8.3 A motorcar is moving with a be, a = F/m = 5 N/0.75 kg = 6.67 m s-2.
velocity of 108 km/h and it takes 4 s to
stop after the brakes are applied.
Calculate the force exerted by the brakes Example 8.5 The velocity-time graph of a
on the motorcar if its mass along with ball of mass 20 g moving along a
the passengers is 1000 kg. straight line on a long table is given in
Fig. 8.9.
Solution:
The initial velocity of the motorcar
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u = 108 km/h
= 108 1000 m/(60 60 s)
= 30 m s-1
and the final velocity of the motorcar v
= 0 m s-1.
The total mass of the motorcar along
with its passengers = 1000 kg and the
time taken to stop the motorcar, t = 4 s.
From Eq. (8.5) we have the magnitude
of the force (F) applied by the brakes as Fig. 8.9
m(v – u)/t.
On substituting the values, we get How much force does the table exert on
F = 1000 kg (0 – 30) m s-1/4 s the ball to bring it to rest?
= – 7500 kg m s-2 or – 7500 N. Solution:
The negative sign tells us that the force
exerted by the brakes is opposite to the The initial velocity of the ball is 20 cm s-1.
direction of motion of the motorcar. Due to the frictional force exerted by the
table, the velocity of the ball decreases
down to zero in 10 s. Thus, u = 20 cm s–1; v
Example 8.4 A force of 5 N gives a mass = 0 cm s-1 and t = 10 s. Since the velocity-
m1, an acceleration of 10 m s–2 and a time graph is a straight line, it is clear that
mass m2, an acceleration of 20 m s-2. the ball moves with a constant
What acceleration would it give if both acceleration. The acceleration a is
the masses were tied together?
v u
a
t
= (0 cm s-1 – 20 cm s-1)/10 s
= –2 cm s-2 = –0.02 m s-2.

16 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 8.4 F=ma m1 = F/a1 m2 = F/a2
m1 = 2 ; a1 = 5 -2
a1 = 10 ; a2 = 20 F = 5 N.
m2 = 4 ; a2 = 2 -2
. m1 = 5 N/10 = 0.50 ;
F1 = m1a1 = 2 5 -2
= 10 N; m2 = 5 N/20 = 0.25

F2 = m2a2 = 4 2 -2
= 8 N.
m = 0.5 + 0.25 = 0.75
F1 > F2. F

a = F/m = 5 N/0.75 = 6.67 .

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u = 108
= 108 1000 /(60 60 )
= 30
V =0
=1000

t = 4
F = m (v – u)/t.

F = 1000 (0-30 )4
= -7500 -7500 N

u v
t

v u
a
N m1 t
m2 = –
.

17
 The force exerted on the ball F is,
F = ma = (20/1000) kg (– 0.02 m s-2)
= – 0.0004 N.
The negative sign implies that the
frictional force exerted by the table is
Fig. 8.10: Action and reaction forces are equal and
opposite to the direction of motion of the
opposite.
ball.
Suppose you are standing at rest and
intend to start walking on a road. You must
8.5 Third Law of Motion accelerate, and this requires a force in
accordance with the second law of motion.
The first two laws of motion tell us how an
Which is this force? Is it the muscular effort
applied force changes the motion and provide
you exert on the road? Is it in the direction we
us with a method of determining the force. The
intend to move? No, you push the road below
third law of motion states that when one object
backwards. The road exerts an equal and
exerts a force on another object, the second
opposite force on your feet to make you move
object instantaneously exerts a force back on
forward.
the first. These two forces are always equal in
It is important to note that even though
magnitude but opposite in direction. These
the action and reaction forces are always equal
forces act on different objects and never on the
in magnitude, these forces may not produce
same object. In the game of football sometimes
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accelerations of equal magnitudes. This is

we, while looking at the football and trying to
because each force acts on a different object
kick it with a greater force, collide with a
that may have a different mass.
player of the opposite team. Both feel hurt
When a gun is fired, it exerts a forward force
because each applies a force to the other. In
on the bullet. The bullet exerts an equal and
other words, there is a pair of forces and not
opposite force on the gun. This results in the
just one force. The two opposing forces are also
recoil of the gun (Fig. 8.11). Since the gun has
known as action and reaction forces.
a much greater mass than the bullet, the
Let us consider two spring balances
acceleration of the gun is much less than the
connected together as shown in Fig. 8.10. The
acceleration of the bullet. The third law of
fixed end of balance B is attached with a rigid
motion can also be illustrated when a sailor
support, like a wall. When a force is applied
jumps out of a rowing boat. As the sailor
through the free end of spring balance A, it is
jumps forward, the force on the boat moves it
observed that both the spring balances show
backwards (Fig. 8.12).
the same readings on their scales. It means
that the force exerted by spring balance A on
balance B is equal but opposite in direction to
the force exerted by the balance B on balance
A. Any of these two forces can be called as
action and the other as reaction. This gives us
an alternative statement of the third law of
motion i.e., to every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction. However, it must be
remembered that the action and reaction
always act on two d ifferent objects,
simultaneously. Fig. 8.11: A forward force on the bullet and recoil
of the gun.

18 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 F = ma = (20/1000) (-0.02 )
= – 0.0004 N
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B
A

A B
B A
A
B B
A

19
 Fig. 8.12: As the sailor jumps in forward direction,
the boat moves backwards.

Activity _______________8.4 Fig. 8.13

Request two children to stand on two Now, place two children on one cart and
separate carts as shown in Fig. 8.13. one on another cart. The second law of motion
Give them a bag full of sand or some can be seen, as this arrangement would show
other heavy object. Ask them to play different accelerations for the same force.
a game of catch with the bag.
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The cart shown in this activity can be

Does each of them experience an
constructed by using a 12 mm or 18 mm thick
instantaneous force as a result of
throwing the sand bag? plywood board of about 50 cm 100 cm with
You can paint a white line on two pairs of hard ball-bearing wheels (skate
cartwheels to observe the motion of wheels are good to use). Skateboards are not
the two carts when the children throw as effective because it is difficult to maintain
the bag towards each other. straight-line motion.

What
you have
learnt
First law of motion: An object continues to be in a state of
rest or of uniform motion along a straight line unless acted
upon by an unbalanced force.
The natural tendency of objects to resist a change in their
state of rest or of uniform motion is called inertia.
The mass of an object is a measure of its inertia. Its SI unit
is kilogram (kg).
Force of friction always opposes motion of objects.
Second law of motion: The rate of change of momentum of
an object is proportional to the applied unbalanced force in
the direction of the force.

20 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 ----------------------- 8.4
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S.I kg

21
 The SI unit of force is kg m s–2. This is also known as newton
and represented by the symbol N. A force of one newton
produces an acceleration of 1 m s –2 on an object of
mass 1 kg.
The momentum of an object is the product of its mass and
velocity and has the same direction as that of the velocity.
Its SI unit is kg m s–1.
Third law of motion: To every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction and they act on two different bodies.

Exercises
1. An object experiences a net zero external unbalanced force.
Is it possible for the object to be travelling with a non-zero
velocity? If yes, state the conditions that must be placed on
2. When a carpet is beaten with a stick, dust comes out of it,
Explain.
3. Why is it advised to tie any luggage kept on the roof of a bus
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with a rope?
4. A batsman hits a cricket ball which then rolls on a level
ground. After covering a short distance, the ball comes to
rest. The ball slows to a stop because
(a) the batsman did not hit the ball hard enough.
(b) velocity is proportional to the force exerted on the ball.
(c) there is a force on the ball opposing the motion.
(d) there is no unbalanced force on the ball, so the ball would
want to come to rest.
5. A truck starts from rest and rolls down a hill with a constant
acceleration. It travels a distance of 400 m in 20 s. Find its
acceleration. Find the force acting on it if its mass is
7 tonnes (Hint: 1 tonne = 1000 kg.)
6. A stone of 1 kg is thrown with a velocity of 20 m s–1 across
the frozen surface of a lake and comes to rest after travelling
a distance of 50 m. What is the force of friction between the
stone and the ice?
7. A 8000 kg engine pulls a train of 5 wagons, each of 2000 kg,
along a horizontal track. If the engine exerts a force of 40000 N
and the track offers a friction force of 5000 N, then calculate:
(a) the net accelerating force and
(b) the acceleration of the train.
8. An automobile vehicle has a mass of 1500 kg. What must be
the force between the vehicle and road if the vehicle is to be
stopped with a negative acceleration of 1.7 m s–2?

22 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 S.I N
1

S.I
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=1000

N
N

23
 9. What is the momentum of an object of mass m, moving with
a velocity v?
(a) (mv)2 (b) mv2 (c) ½ mv2 (d) mv
10. Using a horizontal force of 200 N, we intend to move a wooden
cabinet across a floor at a constant velocity. What is the
friction force that will be exerted on the cabinet?
11. According to the third law of motion when we push on an
object, the object pushes back on us with an equal and
opposite force. If the object is a massive truck parked along
the roadside, it will probably not move. A student justifies
this by answering that the two opposite and equal forces
cancel each other. Comment on this logic and explain why
the truck does not move.
12. A hockey ball of mass 200 g travelling at 10 m s–1 is struck
by a hockey stick so as to return it along its original path
with a velocity at 5 m s–1. Calculate the magnitude of change
of momentum occurred in the motion of the hockey ball by
the force applied by the hockey stick.
13. A bullet of mass 10 g travelling horizontally with a velocity of
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150 m s–1 strikes a stationary wooden block and comes to

rest in 0.03 s. Calculate the distance of penetration of the
bullet into the block. Also calculate the magnitude of the
force exerted by the wooden block on the bullet.
14. An object of mass 1 kg travelling in a straight line with a
velocity of 10 m s–1 collides with, and sticks to, a stationary
wooden block of mass 5 kg. Then they both move off together
in the same straight line. Calculate the total momentum
just before the impact and just after the impact. Also,
calculate the velocity of the combined object.
15. An object of mass 100 kg is accelerated uniformly from a
velocity of 5 m s–1 to 8 m s–1 in 6 s. Calculate the initial and
final momentum of the object. Also, find the magnitude of
the force exerted on the object.
16. Akhtar, Kiran and Rahul were riding in a motorcar that was
moving with a high velocity on an expressway when an insect
hit the windshield and got stuck on the windscreen. Akhtar
and Kiran started pondering over the situation. Kiran
suggested that the insect suffered a greater change in
momentum as compared to the change in momentum of the
motorcar (because the change in the velocity of the insect
was much more than that of the motorcar). Akhtar said
that since the motorcar was moving with a larger velocity, it
exerted a larger force on the insect. And as a result the
insect died. Rahul while putting an entirely new explanation
said that both the motorcar and the insect experienced the

24 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

 m v
(a) (mv)2
(b) mv2 (c) ½ mv2 (d) mv
N
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25
 same force and a change in their momentum. Comment on
these suggestions.
17. How much momentum will a dumb-bell of mass 10 kg
transfer to the floor if it falls from a height of 80 cm? Take
its downward acceleration to be 10 m s–2.

Additional
Exercises
A1. The following is the distance-time table of an object in motion:
Time in seconds Distance in metres
0 0
1 1
2 8
3 27
4 64
5 125
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6 216
7 343
(a) What conclusion can you draw about the acceleration?
Is it constant, increasing, decreasing, or zero?
(b) What do you infer about the forces acting on the object?
A2. Two persons manage to push a motorcar of mass 1200 kg at
a uniform velocity along a level road. The same motorcar
can be pushed by three persons to produce an acceleration
of 0.2 m s-2. With what force does each person push the
motorcar? (Assume that all persons push the motorcar with
the same muscular effort.)
A3. A hammer of mass 500 g, moving at 50 m s-1, strikes a nail.
The nail stops the hammer in a very short time of 0.01 s.
What is the force of the nail on the hammer?
A4. A motorcar of mass 1200 kg is moving along a straight line
with a uniform velocity of 90 km/h. Its velocity is slowed
down to 18 km/h in 4 s by an unbalanced external force.
Calculate the acceleration and change in momentum. Also
calculate the magnitude of the force required.

26 FORCE AND LAWS OF MOTION

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A
A
A
A

27
 C hapter 9
GRAVITATION
Let us try to understand the motion of the
We have learnt about the motion of objects and moon by recalling activity 7.11.
force as the cause of motion. We have learnt
that a force is needed to change the speed or Activity ______________ 9.1
the direction of motion of an object. We always
observe that an object dropped from a height Take a piece of thread.
Tie a small stone at one end. Hold the
falls towards the earth. We know that all the
other end of the thread and whirl it
planets go around the Sun. The moon goes round, as shown in Fig. 9.1.
around the earth. In all these cases, there must Note the motion of the stone.
be some force acting on the objects, the planets Release the thread.
and on the moon. Isaac Newton could grasp
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Again, note the direction of motion of

that the same force is responsible for all these. the stone.
This force is called the gravitational force.
In this chapter we shall learn about
gravitation and the universal law of
gravitation. We shall discuss the motion of
objects under the influence of gravitational
force on the earth. We shall study how the
weight of a body varies from place to place.
We shall also discuss the conditions for
objects to float in liquids.

9.1 Gravitation
We know that the moon goes around the earth.
An object when thrown upwards, reaches a
certain height and then falls downwards. It is
said that when Newton was sitting under a tree, Fig. 9.1: A stone describing a circular path with a
an apple fell on him. The fall of the apple made velocity of constant magnitude.
Newton start thinking. He thought that: if the
earth can attract an apple, can it not attract Before the thread is released, the stone
the moon? Is the force the same in both cases? moves in a circular path with a certain speed
He conjectured that the same type of force is and changes direction at every point.
responsible in both the cases. He argued that The change in direction involves change in
at each point of its orbit, the moon falls velocity or acceleration. The force that causes
towards the earth, instead of going off in a this acceleration and keeps the body moving
straight line. So, it must be attracted by the along the circular path is acting towards
earth. But we do not really see the moon falling the cen tre. This force is called th e
towards the earth. centripetal (meaning ‘centre-seeking’) force.

28 GRAVITATION
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29
 In the absence of this force, the stone flies 9.1.1 UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITATION
off along a straight line. This straight line will
be a tangent to the circular path. Every object in the universe attracts every
other object with a force which is proportional
to the product of their masses and inversely
Tangent to a circle
proportional to the square of the distance
between them. The force is along the line
joining the centres of two objects.
More to know

A straight line that meets the circle at

one and only one point is called a Mm
F = G
tangent to the circle. Straight line d
2

ABC is a tangent to the circle at

point B.
Fig. 9.2: The gravitational force between two
uniform objects is directed along the line
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The motion of the moon around the earth joining their centres.
is due to the centripetal force. The centripetal
force is provided by the force of attraction of Let two objects A and B of masses M and
the earth. If there were no such force, the m lie at a distance d from each other as shown
moon would pursue a uniform straight line in Fig. 9.2. Let the force of attraction between
motion. two objects be F. According to the universal
It is seen that a falling apple is attracted law of gravitation, the force between two
towards the earth. Does the apple attract the objects is directly proportional to the product
earth? If so, we do not see the earth moving of their masses. That is,
towards an apple. Why? F M m (9.1)
According to the third law of motion, the And the force between two objects is inversely
apple does attract the earth. But according proportional to the square of the distance
to the second law of motion, for a given force, between them, that is,
acceleration is inversely proportional to the
mass of an object [Eq. (9.4)]. The mass of an 1
apple is negligibly small compared to that of F (9.2)
d2
the earth. So, we do not see the earth moving
towards the apple. Extend the same argument Combining Eqs. (10.1) and (10.2), we get
for why the earth does not move towards the
moon. M m
In our solar system, all the planets go F (9.3)
d2
around the Sun. By arguing the same way,
we can say that there exists a force between M m
the Sun and the planets. From the above facts or, F = G 2 (9.4)
d
Newton concluded that not only does the
earth attract an apple and the moon, but all where G is the constant of proportionality and
objects in the universe attract each other. This is called the universal gravitation constant.
force of attraction between objects is called By multiplying crosswise, Eq. (9.4) gives
the gravitational force. F d2=GM m

30 GRAVITATION
 Mm
F = G 2
ABC B d
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M, m
A, B d

F M m (9.1)

1
F (9.2)
d2

M m
F (9.3)
d2

M m
, F =G 2 (9.4)
d

F d2=GM m

31
 2 From Eq. (9.4), the force exerted by the
Fd
or G (9.5) earth on the moon is
M m
M m
The SI unit of G can be obtained by F =G
d2
substituting the units of force, distance and
11
mass in Eq. (9.5) as N m2 kg–2. 6.7 10 N m2 kg -2 6 1024 kg 7.4 1022 kg
Th e value of G was found out by (3.84 108 m)2
Henry Cavendish (1731 – 1810) by using a
= 2.02 1020 N.
sensitive balance. The accepted value of G is
6.673 10–11 N m2 kg–2. Thus, the force exerted by the earth on
We know that there exists a force of the moon is 2.02 1020 N.

Q
attraction between any two objects. Compute
the value of this force between you and your
friend sitting closeby. Conclude how you do uestions
not experience this force! 1. State the universal law of
gravitation.
2. Write the formula to find the
The law is universal in the sense that
magnitude of the gravitational
it is applicable to all bodies, whether
force between the earth and an
the bodies are big or small, whether object on the surface of the earth.
More to know

they are celestial or terrestrial.

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Inverse-square 9.1.2 IMPORTANCE OF THE UNIVERSAL

LAW OF GRAVITATION
Saying that F is inversely
proportional to the square of d The universal law of gravitation successfully
means, for example, that if d gets explained several phenomena which were
bigger by a factor of 6, F becomes believed to be unconnected:
1 (i) t h e for ce t h at bin ds u s t o t h e ear t h ;
times smaller.. (ii) t h e m ot ion of t h e m oon ar ou n d t h e
36
earth;
(iii) the motion of plan ets aroun d the Sun ;
and
Example 9.1 The mass of the earth is (iv) the tides due to the moon and the Sun.
6 1024 kg and that of the moon is
7.4 1022 kg. If the distance between the 9.2 Free Fall
earth and the moon is 3.84 105 km,
calculate the force exerted by the earth on Let us try to understand the meaning of free
the moon. (Take G = 6.7 10–11 N m2 kg-2) fall by performing this activity.

Solution: Activity ______________ 9.2

The mass of the earth, M = 6 1024 kg Take a stone.
The mass of the moon, Throw it upwards.
m = 7.4 1022 kg It reaches a certain height and then it
starts falling down.
The distance between the earth and the
moon, We have learnt that the earth attracts
d = 3.84 105 km objects towards it. This is due to the
= 3.84 105 1000 m gravitational force. Whenever objects fall
= 3.84 108 m towards the earth under this force alone, we
G = 6.7 10–11 N m2 kg–2 say that the objects are in free fall. Is there any

32 GRAVITATION
 2
Fd
G (9.5)
M m
M m
F =G
d2
G SI
11
6.7 10 N m2 kg -2 6 1024 kg 7.4 1022 kg
(3.84 108 m)2
G
= 2.02 1020 N.
G 10–11

2.02 1020 N.
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F d
d
1
F
36

6 1024
7.4 1022
3.84 105

G = 6.7 10–11

M = 6 1024

m = 7.4 1022

d = 3.84 105
= 3.84 105 1000
= 3.84 108
G = 6.7 10–11

33
 change in the velocity of falling objects? While calculations, we can take g to be more or less
falling, there is no change in the direction of constant on or near the earth. But for objects
motion of the objects. But due to the earth’s far from the earth, the acceleration due to
attraction, there will be a change in the gravitational force of earth is given by
magnitude of the velocity. Any change in Eq. (9.7).
velocity involves acceleration. Whenever an
object falls towards the earth, an acceleration 9.2.1 TO CALCULATE THE VALUE OF g
is involved. This acceleration is due to the
earth’s gravitational force. Therefore, this To calculate the value of g, we should put the
acceleration is called the acceleration due to values of G, M and R in Eq. (9.9), namely,
the gravitational force of the earth (or universal gravitational constant, G = 6.7 10–11
acceleration due to gravity). It is denoted by g. N m2 kg-2, mass of the earth, M = 6 1024 kg,
The unit of g is the same as that of acceleration, and radius of the earth, R = 6.4 106 m.
that is, m s–2. M
We know from the second law of motion g= G 2
that force is the product of mass and R
acceleration. Let the mass of the stone in
6.7 10-11 N m 2 kg -2 6 1024 kg
activity 9.2 be m. We already know that there =
is acceleration involved in falling objects due (6.4 106 m)2
to the gravitational force and is denoted by g. = 9.8 m s–2.
Therefore the magnitude of the gravitational
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force F will be equal to the product of mass Thus, the value of acceleration due to gravity
and acceleration due to the gravitational of the earth, g = 9.8 m s–2.
force, that is,
F=mg (9.6) 9.2.2 MOTION OF OBJECTS UNDER THE
From Eqs. (9.4) and (9.6) we have INFLUENC E OF GR AVI TA T IO NA L

M m FORCE OF THE EARTH

mg =G 2
d Let us do an activity to understand whether
all objects hollow or solid, big or small, will
M fall from a height at the same rate.
or g = G 2 (9.7)
d
where M is the mass of the earth, and d is the Activity ______________ 9.3
distance between the object and the earth. Take a sheet of paper and a stone.
Let an object be on or near the surface of Drop them simultaneously from the
the earth. The distance d in Eq. (9.7) will be first floor of a building. Observe
equal to R, the radius of the earth. Thus, for whether both of them reach the
objects on or near the surface of the earth, ground simultaneously.
We see that paper reaches the ground
M m
mg = G (9.8) little later than the stone. This happens
2
R because of air resistance. The air offers
resistance due to friction to the motion
M of the falling objects. The resistance
g=G (9.9)
R
2 offered by air to the paper is more than
the resistance offered to the stone. If
The earth is not a perfect sphere. As the we do the experiment in a glass jar
radius of the earth increases from the poles to from which air has been sucked out,
the equator, the value of g becomes greater at the paper and the stone would fall at
the poles than at the equator. For most the same rate.

34 GRAVITATION
 g

g
g G, M R
g g
ms .
–2
G = 6.7 10–11
M = 6 1024
R = 6.4 106
m M
g= G 2
R
g
F 6.7 10-11 N m 2 kg -2 6 1024 kg
=
(6.4 10 m)2
6

F=mg (9.6) = 9.8

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g = 9.8 .
M m
mg =G 2
d

M
g= G 2 (9.7)
d

M d

d,
R

M m
mg = G 2 (9.8)
R

M
g=G 2 (9.9)
R

35
 We know that an object experiences u+v
acceleration during free fall. From Eq. (9.9), (ii) average speed =
2
this acceleration experienced by an object is = (0 m s–1+ 5 m s–1)/2
independent of its mass. This means that all = 2.5 m s–1
objects hollow or solid, big or small, should (iii) distance travelled, s = ½ a t2
fall at the same rate. According to a story, = ½ 10 m s–2 (0.5 s)2
Galileo dropped different objects from the top = ½ 10 m s–2 0.25 s2
of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy to prove = 1.25 m
the same. Thus,
As g is constant near the earth, all the (i) its speed on striking the ground
equations for the uniformly accelerated = 5 m s–1
motion of objects become valid w ith (ii) its average speed during the 0.5 s
acceleration a replaced by g. = 2.5 m s–1
The equations are: (iii) height of the ledge from the ground
v = u + at (9.10) = 1.25 m.
1
s = ut + at2 (9.11)
2
Example 9.3 An object is thrown vertically
v2 = u2 + 2as (9.12)
upwards and rises to a height of 10 m.
where u and v are the initial and final velocities Calculate (i) the velocity with which the
and s is the distance covered in time, t. object was thrown upwards and (ii) the
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In applying these equations, we will take time taken by the object to reach the
acceleration, a to be positive when it is in the highest point.
direction of the velocity, that is, in the
direction of motion. The acceleration, a will Solution:
be taken as negative when it opposes the
Distance travelled, s = 10 m
motion.
Final velocity, v = 0 m s–1
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8 m s–2
Example 9.2 A car falls off a ledge and Acceleration of the object, a = –9.8 m s–2
drops to the ground in 0.5 s. Let (upward motion)
g = 10 m s –2 (for simplifying the (i) v 2 = u2 + 2a s
calculations). 0 = u 2 + 2 (–9.8 m s–2) 10 m
(i) What is its speed on striking the –u 2 = –2 9.8 10 m2 s–2
ground? u = 196 m s-1
(ii) What is its average speed during the
u = 14 m s-1
0.5 s?
(ii) v=u+at
(iii) How high is the ledge from the
0 = 14 m s–1 – 9.8 m s–2 t
ground?
t = 1.43 s.
Thus,
Solution:
(i) Initial velocity, u = 14 m s–1, and
Time, t = ½ second (ii) Time taken, t = 1.43 s.

Q
Initial velocity, u = 0 m s–1
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 10 m s–2
Acceleration of the car, a = + 10 m s–2 uestions
(downward) 1. What do you mean by free fall?
(i) speed v = at 2. What do you mean by acceleration
v = 10 m s–2 0.5 s due to gravity?
= 5 m s–1

36 GRAVITATION
 u+v
=
2

s = ½ a t2
½
½

g
a
g

v = u + at (9.10) .

1
s = ut + at2 (9.11)
2
v2 = u2 + 2as (9.12)
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u, v s
t

a s = 10
a v=0
g = 9.8
a = 9.8

v 2 = u2 + 2a s
g = 0= u2+2 10
–u 2 = –2 9.8 10
u = 196
u=
v=u+at
0 = 14 – 9.8 t
t = 1.43

t=½ u = 14
u=0ms –1 t = 1.43
g = 10
a = + 10
v = at
v = 10 0.5
=

37
 9.3 Mass attracts the object. In the same way, the weight
of an object on the moon is the force with
We have learnt in the previous chapter that the which the moon attracts that object. The mass
mass of an object is the measure of its inertia . of the moon is less than that of the earth. Due
We have also learnt that greater the mass, the to this the moon exerts lesser force of attraction
greater is the inertia. It remains the same on objects.
whether the object is on the earth, the moon Let the mass of an object be m. Let its
or even in outer space. Thus, the mass of an weight on the moon be Wm. Let the mass of
object is constant and does not change from the moon be Mm and its radius be Rm.
place to place. By applying t he universal law of
gravitation, the weight of the object on the
9.4 Weight moon will be
Mm m
Wm G (9.16)
We know that the earth attracts every object Rm2
with a certain force and this force depends on Let the weight of the same object on the
the mass (m) of the object and the acceleration earth be We. The mass of the earth is M and its
due to the gravity (g). The weight of an object radius is R.
is the force with which it is attracted towards
the earth. Table 9.1
We know that
F = m a, (9.13) Celestial Mass (kg) Radius (m)
body
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that is,
F = m g. (9.14)
The force of attraction of the earth on an Earth 5.98 1024 6.37 106
object is known as the weight of the object. It Moon 7.36 ×1022 1.74 106
is denoted by W. Substituting the same in Eq.
(9.14), we have
W=m g (9.15) From Eqs. (9.9) and (9.15) we have,
As the weight of an object is the force with M m
We G (9.17)
which it is attracted towards the earth, the SI R2
unit of weight is the same as that of force, that
Substituting the values from Table 10.1 in
is, newton (N). The weight is a force acting
vertically downwards; it has both magnitude Eqs. (9.16) and (9.17), we get
and direction. 7.36 1022 kg m
We have learnt that the value of g is Wm G 2
6
1.74 10 m
constant at a given place. Therefore at a given
place, the weight of an object is directly Wm 2.431 1010 G × m (9.18a)
proportional to the mass, say m, of the object,
and We 1.474 10 G × m 11
(9.18b)
that is, W m. It is due to this reason that at
a given place, we can use the weight of an Dividing Eq. (9.18a) by Eq. (9.18b), we get
object as a measure of its mass. The mass of
Wm 2.431 1010
an object remains the same everywhere, that
is, on the earth and on any planet whereas its We 1.474 1011
weight depends on its location because g Wm 1
depends on location. or W 0.165 (9.19)
e 6

9.4.1 W EIGHT OF AN OBJE C T ON Weight of the object on the moon

=
1
THE MOON Weight of the object on the earth 6
We have learnt that the weight of an object on Weight of the object on the moon
the earth is the force with which the earth = (1/6) its weight on the earth.

38 GRAVITATION
 m
Wm
Mm Rm

Mm m
Wm G 2 (9.16)
m g Rm

We
M R.
F=m a, (9.13)

F=m g. (9.14) ( )
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W 5.98 × 1024 6.37 × 106

7.36 × 1022 1.74 × 106
W=m g (9.15)

M m
SI We G (9.17)
R2
N

7.36 1022 kg m
g Wm G 2
6
1.74 10 m

Wm 2.431 1010 G × m (9.18 )

m W m. We 1.474 10 G × m 11
(9.18 )
(9.18 ) (9.18 ),
10
Wm 2.431 10
We 1.474 1011
g Wm 1
0.165 (9.19)
We 6

(1/6)

39
 the net force in a particular direction (thrust)
Example 9.4 Mass of an object is 10 kg.
and the force per unit area (pressure) acting
What is its weight on the earth?
on the object concerned.
Solution: Let us try to understand the meanings of
Mass, m = 10 kg thrust and pressure by considering the
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8 m s–2 following situations:
W=m g Situation 1: You wish to fix a poster on a
W = 10 kg 9.8 m s-2 = 98 N bulletin board, as shown in Fig 9.3. To do this
Thus, the weight of the object is 98 N. task you will have to press drawing pins with
your thumb. You apply a force on the surface
area of the head of the pin. This force is directed
Example 9.5 An object weighs 10 N when perpendicular to the surface area of the board.
measured on the surface of the earth. This force acts on a smaller area at the tip of
Wh at would be its weight when the pin.
measured on the surface of the moon?

Solution:
We know,
Weight of object on the moon
= (1/6) its weight on the earth.
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That is,
W 10
Wm = e = N.
6 6
= 1.67 N.
Thus, the weight of object on the surface
of the moon would be 1.67 N.

Q
uestions
1. What are the differences between
the mass of an object and its
weight?
2. Why is the weight of an object on
1 th
the moon its weight on the
6
earth?

9.5 Thrust and Pressure Fig. 9.3: To fix a poster, drawing pins are pressed
with the thumb perpendicular to the
Have you ever wondered why a camel can run board.
in a desert easily? Why an army tank weighing
more than a thousand tonne rests upon a Situation 2: You stand on loose sand. Your
continuous chain? Why a truck or a motorbus feet go deep into the sand. Now, lie down on
has much wider tyres? Why cutting tools have the sand. You will find that your body will not
sharp edges? In order to address these go that deep in the sand. In both cases the
questions and understand the phenomena force exerted on the sand is the weight of your
involved, it helps to introduce the concepts of body.

40 GRAVITATION
 m = 10
g = 9.8
W=m g
W = 10 9.8

= (1/6)
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We 10
Wm = =
6 6
= 1.67 N.

1
6

41
 You have learnt that weight is the force by the wooden block on the table top if
acting vertically downwards. Here the force is it is made to lie on the table top with its
acting perpendicular to the surface of the sand. sides of dimensions (a) 20 cm 10 cm
The force acting on an object perpendicular to and (b) 40 cm 20 cm.
the surface is called thrust.
Solution:
When you stand on loose sand, the force,
that is, the weight of your body is acting on The mass of the wooden block = 5 kg
an area equal to area of your feet. When you The dimensions
lie down, the same force acts on an area equal = 40 cm 20 cm 10 cm
to the contact area of your whole body, which Here, the weight of the wooden block
is larger than the area of your feet. Thus, the applies a thrust on the table top.
effects of forces of the same magnitude on That is,
different areas are different. In the above Thrust = F = m g
cases, thrust is the same. But effects are = 5 kg 9.8 m s–2
different. Therefore the effect of thrust = 49 N
depends on the area on which it acts. Area of a side = length breadth
The effect of thrust on sand is larger while = 20 cm 10 cm
standing than while lying. The thrust on unit = 200 cm2 = 0.02 m2
area is called pressure. Thus, From Eq. (9.20),
thrust 49 N
Pressure = (9.20) Pressure = 0.02 m 2
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area
Substituting the SI unit of thrust and area in = 2450 N m-2.
Eq. (9.20), we get the SI unit of pressure as N/ When the block lies on its side of
m2 or N m–2. dimensions 40 cm 20 cm, it exerts
In honour of scientist Blaise Pascal, the the same thrust.
SI unit of pressure is called pascal, denoted Area= length breadth
as Pa. = 40 cm 20 cm
Let us consider a numerical example to = 800 cm2 = 0.08 m2
understand the effects of thrust acting on From Eq. (9.20),
different areas.
49 N
Example 9.6 A block of wood is kept on a Pressure =
0.08 m 2
tabletop. The mass of wooden block is 5 = 612.5 N m–2
kg and its dimensions are 40 cm 20 The pressure exerted by the side 20 cm
cm 10 cm. Find the pressure exerted 10 cm is 2450 N m–2 and by the side
40 cm 20 cm is 612.5 N m–2.

Thus, the same force acting on a smaller

area exerts a larger pressure, and a smaller
pressure on a larger area. This is the reason
why a nail has a pointed tip, knives have sharp
edges and buildings have wide foundations.

9.5.1 PRESSURE IN FLUIDS

All liquids and gases are fluids. A solid exerts

pressure on a surface due to its weight.
Similarly, fluids have weight, and they also
Fig. 9.4

42 GRAVITATION
 www.apteachers.in

SI
SI

Pa
SI
F
=
m
g

43
 exert pressure on the base and walls of the is greater than its weight. Therefore it rises up
container in which they are enclosed. Pressure when released.
exerted in any confined mass of fluid is To keep the bottle completely immersed,
transmitted undiminished in all directions. the upward force on the bottle due to water
must be balanced. This can be achieved by
9.5.2 BUOYANCY an externally applied force acting downwards.
This force must at least be equal to the
Have you ever had a swim in a pool and felt difference between the upward force and the
lighter? Have you ever drawn water from a weight of the bottle.
well and felt that the bucket of water is heavier The upward force exerted by the water on
when it is out of the water? Have you ever the bottle is known as upthrust or buoyant
wondered why a ship made of iron and steel force. In fact, all objects experience a force of
does not sink in sea water, but while the same buoyancy when they are immersed in a fluid.
amount of iron and steel in the form of a sheet The magnitude of this buoyant force depends
would sink? These questions can be answered on the density of the fluid.
by taking buoyancy in consideration. Let us
understand the meaning of buoyancy by 9.5.3 W HY OBJEC TS F LO A T OR SIN K
doing an activity.
WHEN PLACED ON THE SURFACE OF
Activity _______________9.4 WATER?
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Take an empty plastic bottle. Close Let us do the following activities to arrive at an
the mouth of the bottle with an answer for the above question.
airtight stopper. Put it in a bucket
filled with water. You see that the Activity _______________9.5
bottle floats.
Push the bottle into the water. You feel Take a beaker filled with water.
an upward push. Try to push it further Take an iron nail and place it on the
down. You will find it difficult to push surface of the water.
deeper and deeper. This indicates that Observe what happens.
water exerts a force on the bottle in the
upward direction. The upward force The nail sinks. The force due to the
ex erted by the water g oes on gravitational attraction of the earth on the
increasing as the bottle is pushed iron nail pulls it downwards. There is an
deeper till it is completely immersed. upthrust of water on the nail, which pushes
Now, release the bottle. It bounces it upwards. But the downward force acting
back to the surface.
on the nail is greater than the upthrust of
Does the force due to the gravitational
water on the nail. So it sinks (Fig. 9.5).
attraction of the earth act on this
bottle? If so, why doesn’t the bottle stay
immersed in water after it is released?
How can you immerse the bottle in
water?
The force due to the gravitational attraction
of the earth acts on the bottle in the downward
direction. So the bottle is pulled downwards.
But the water exerts an upward force on the
bottle. Thus, the bottle is pushed upwards.
We have learnt that weight of an object is the
force due to gravitational attraction of the
earth. When the bottle is immersed, the Fig. 9.5: An iron nail sinks and a cork floats when
upward force exerted by the water on the bottle placed on the surface of water.

44 GRAVITATION
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45
 Activity _______________9.6
Take a beaker filled with water.
Take a piece of cork and an iron nail of
equal mass.
Place them on the surface of water.
Observe what happens.

The cork floats while the nail sinks. This

happens because of the difference in their
densities. The density of a substance is
defined as the mass per unit volume. The (a)
density of cork is less than the density of
water. This means that the upthrust of water
on the cork is greater than the weight of the
cork. So it floats (Fig. 9.5).
(b)
The density of an iron nail is more than
the density of water. This means that the Fig. 9.6: (a) Observe the elongation of the rubber
string due to the weight of a piece of stone
upthrust of water on the iron nail is less than
suspended from it in air. (b) The elongation
the weight of the nail. So it sinks. decreases as the stone is immersed
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Therefore objects of density less than that in water.

of a liquid float on the liquid. The objects of
density greater than that of a liquid sink in Observe what happens to elongation

Q
the liquid. of the string or the reading on the
balance.
You will find that the elongation of the string
uestions or the reading of the balance decreases as the
1. Why is it difficult to hold a school stone is gradually lowered in the water. However,
bag having a strap made of a thin no further change is observed once the stone
and strong string? gets fully immersed in the water. What do you
2. What do you mean by buoyancy? infer from the decrease in the extension of the
3. Why does an object float or sink string or the reading of the spring balance?
when placed on the surface of We know that the elongation produced in
water? the string or the spring balance is due to the
weight of the stone. Since the extension
9.6 Archimedes’ Principle decreases once the stone is lowered in water,
it means that some force acts on the stone in
Activity _______________9.7 upward direction. As a result, the net force on
the string decreases and hence the elongation
Take a piece of stone and tie it to one also decreases. As discussed earlier, this
end of a rubber string or a spring
upward force exerted by water is known as
balance.
Suspend the stone by holding the the force of buoyancy.
balance or the string as shown in What is the magnitude of the buoyant
Fig. 9.6 (a). force experienced by a body? Is it the same
Note the elongation of the string or in all fluids for a given body? Do all bodies
the reading on the spring balance due in a given fluid experience the same buoyant
to the weight of the stone.
force? The answer to these questions is
Now, slowly dip the stone in the water
in a container as shown in contained in Archimedes’ principle, stated as
Fig. 9.6 (b). follows:

46 GRAVITATION
 www.apteachers.in

47
 When a body is immersed fully or partially Archimedes’ principle h as man y
in a fluid, it experiences an upward force that applications. It is used in designing ships and
is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced submarines. Lactometers, which are used to
by it. determine the purity of a sample of milk and
Now, can you explain why a further hydrometers used for determining density of

Q
decrease in the elongation of the string was liquids, are based on this principle.
not observed in activity 9.7, as the stone was
fully immersed in water? uestions
Archimedes was a Greek scientist. He 1. You find your mass to be 42 kg
discovered the principle, subsequently named on a weighing machine. Is your
after him, after noticing that mass more or less than 42 kg?
the wa ter in a bat htub 2. You have a bag of cotton and an
overflowed when he stepped iron bar, each indicating a mass
into it. He ran through the of 100 kg when measured on a
streets shouting “Eureka!”, weighing machine. In reality,
which means “I have got it”. one is heavier than other. Can
This knowledge helped him to you say which one is heavier
determine the purity of the and why?
Archimedes
gold in the crown made for
the king.
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His work in the field of Geometry and

Mechanics mad e him fa mous. His
understanding of levers, pulleys, wheels-
and-axle helped the Greek army in its war
with Roman army.

What
you have
learnt
The law of gravitation states that the force of attraction
between any two objects is proportional to the product of
their masses and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between them. The law applies to objects
anywhere in the universe. Such a law is said to be universal.
Gravitation is a weak force unless large masses are involved.
The force of gravity decreases with altitude. It also varies
on the surface of the earth, decreasing from poles to the
equator.
The weight of a body is the force with which the earth
attracts it.
The weight is equal to the product of mass and acceleration
due to gravity.
The weight may vary from place to place but the mass stays
constant.

48 GRAVITATION
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49
 All objects experience a force of buoyancy when they are
immersed in a fluid.
Objects having density less than that of the liquid in which
they are immersed, float on the surface of the liquid. If the
density of the object is more than the density of the liquid in
which it is immersed then it sinks in the liquid.

Exercises
1. How does the force of gravitation between two objects change
when the distance between them is reduced to half ?
2. Gravitational force acts on all objects in proportion to their
masses. Why then, a heavy object does not fall faster than
a light object?
3. What is the magnitude of the gravitational force between the
earth and a 1 kg object on its surface? (Mass of the earth is
6 1024 kg and radius of the earth is 6.4 106 m.)
4. The earth and the moon are attracted to each other by
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gravitational force. Does the earth attract the moon with a

force that is greater or smaller or the same as the force
with which the moon attracts the earth? Why?
5. If the moon attracts the earth, why does the earth not move
towards the moon?
6. What happens to the force between two objects, if
(i) the mass of one object is doubled?
(ii) the distance between the objects is doubled and tripled?
(iii) the masses of both objects are doubled?
7. What is the importance of universal law of gravitation?
8. What is the acceleration of free fall?
9. What do we call the gravitational force between the earth and
an object?
10. Amit buys few grams of gold at the poles as per the instruction
of one of his friends. He hands over the same when he meets
him at the equator. Will the friend agree with the weight of gold
bought? If not, why? [Hint: The value of g is greater at the
poles than at the equator.]
11. Why will a sheet of paper fall slower than one that is crumpled
into a ball?
1
12. Gravitational force on the surface of the moon is only as
6
strong as gravitational force on the earth. What is the weight
in newtons of a 10 kg object on the moon and on the earth?

50 GRAVITATION
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1
6
ii
iii

51
 13. A ball is thrown vertically upwards with a velocity of 49 m/s.
Calculate
(i) the maximum height to which it rises,
(ii) the total time it takes to return to the surface of the
earth.
14. A stone is released from the top of a tower of height 19.6 m.
Calculate its final velocity just before touching the ground.
15. A stone is thrown vertically upward with an initial velocity
of 40 m/s. Taking g = 10 m/s2, find the maximum height
reached by the stone. What is the net displacement and the
total distance covered by the stone?
16. Calculate the force of gravitation between the earth and the
Sun, given that the mass of the earth = 6 1024 kg and of the
Sun = 2 1030 kg. The average distance between the two is
1.5 1011 m.
17. A stone is allowed to fall from the top of a tower 100 m high
and at the same time another stone is projected vertically
upwards from the ground with a velocity of 25 m/s. Calculate
when and where the two stones will meet.
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18. A ball thrown up vertically returns to the thrower after 6 s.

Find
(a) the velocity with which it was thrown up,
(b) the maximum height it reaches, and
(c) its position after 4 s.
19. In what direction does the buoyant force on an object
immersed in a liquid act?
20. Why does a block of plastic released under water come up
to the surface of water?
21. The volume of 50 g of a substance is 20 cm3. If the density of
water is 1 g cm–3, will the substance float or sink?
22. The volume of a 500 g sealed packet is 350 cm3. Will the
packet float or sink in water if the density of water is 1 g
cm–3? What will be the mass of the water displaced by this
packet?

52 GRAVITATION
 i
ii

g = 10

=
6 10
24
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53
 C hapter 10
WORK AND ENERGY
In the previous few chapters we have talked draws diagrams, organises her thoughts,
about ways of describing the motion of objects, collects question papers, attends classes,
the cause of motion and gravitation. Another discusses problems with her friends, and
concept that helps us understand and interpret performs experiments. She expends a lot of
many natural phenomena is ‘work’. Closely energy on these activities. In common
related to work are energy and power. In this parlance, she is ‘working hard’. All this ‘hard
chapter we shall study these concepts. work’ may involve very little ‘work’ if we go by
All living beings need food. Living beings the scientific definition of work.
have to perform several basic activities to You are working hard to push a huge rock.
survive. We call such activities ‘life processes’. Let us say the rock does not move despite all
The energy for these processes comes from the effort. You get completely exhausted.
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food. We need energy for other activities like However, you have not done any work on the
playing, singing, reading, writing, thinking, rock as there is no displacement of the rock.
jumping, cycling and running. Activities that You stand still for a few minutes with a
are strenuous require more energy. heavy load on your head. You get tired. You
Animals too get engaged in activities. For have exerted yourself and have spent quite a
example, they may jump and run. They have bit of your energy. Are you doing work on the
to fight, move away from enemies, find food or load? The way we understand the term ‘work’
find a safe place to live. Also, we engage some in science, work is not done.
animals to lift weights, carry loads, pull carts You climb up the steps of a staircase and
or plough fields. All such activities require reach the second floor of a building just to see
energy. the landscape from there. You may even climb
Think of machines. List the machines that up a tall tree. If we apply the scientific
you have come across. What do they need for definition, these activities involve a lot of work.
their working? Why do some engines require In day-to-day life, we consider any useful
fuel like petrol and diesel? Why do living beings physical or mental labour as work. Activities
and machines need energy? like playing in a field, talking with friends,
humming a tune, watching a movie, attending
10.1 Work a function are sometimes not considered to be
work. What constitutes ‘work’ depends on the
What is work? There is a difference in the way way we define it. We use and define the term
we use the term ‘work’ in day-to-day life and work differently in science. To understand this
the way we use it in science. To make this let us do the following activities:
point clear let us consider a few examples.

10.1.1 N OT MUCH ‘ WORK ’ IN SPITE OF

Activity ______________ 10.1
WORKING HARD! We have discussed in the above
paragraphs a number of activities
Kamali is preparing for examinations. She which we normally consider to be work
spends lot of time in studies. She reads books,

54 WORK AND ENERGY

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10

55
 in day-to-day life. For each of these
activities, ask the following questions
Activity ______________ 10.3
and answer them: Think of situations when the object
(i) What is the work being done on? is not displaced in spite of a force
(ii) What is happening to the object? acting on it.
(iii) Who (what) is doing the work? Also think of situations when an
object gets displaced in the absence
of a force acting on it.
10.1.2 SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTION OF WORK List all the situations that you can
To understand the way we view work and think of for each.
Discuss with your friends whether
define work from the point of view of science,
work is done in these situations.
let us consider some situations:
Push a pebble lying on a surface. The
pebble moves through a distance. You exerted
10.1.3 WORK DONE BY A CONSTANT FORCE
a force on the pebble and the pebble got How is work defined in science? To understand
displaced. In this situation work is done. this, we shall first consider the case when the
A girl pulls a trolley and the trolley moves force is acting in the direction of displacement.
through a distance. The girl has exerted a force Let a constant force, F act on an object.
on the trolley and it is displaced. Therefore, Let the object be displaced through a distance,
work is done. s in the direction of the force (Fig. 10.1). Let
Lift a book through a height. To do this W be the work done. We define work to be
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you must apply a force. The book rises up. equal to the product of the force and
There is a force applied on the book and the displacement.
book has moved. Hence, work is done. Work done = force displacement
A closer look at the above situations reveals W = Fs (10.1)
that two conditions need to be satisfied for
work to be done: (i) a force should act on an
object, and (ii) the object must be displaced.
If any one of the above conditions does not
exist, work is not done. This is the way we view
work in science.
A bullock is pulling a cart. The cart moves.
There is a force on the cart and the cart has
moved. Do you think that work is done in this
situation?

Activity ______________ 10.2

Fig. 10.1
Think of some situations from your
daily life involving work.
List them.
Discuss with your friends whether Thus, work done by a force acting on an
work is being done in each situation. object is equal to the magnitude of the force
Try to reason out your response. multiplied by the distance moved in the
If work is done, which is the force direction of the force. Work has only
acting on the object? magnitude and no direction.
What is the object on which the work In Eq. (10.1), if F = 1 N and s = 1 m then
is done? the work done by the force will be 1 N m. Here
What happens to the object on which
the unit of work is newton metre (N m) or
work is done?
joule (J). Thus 1 J is the amount of work

56 WORK AND ENERGY

 F
s
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(i) W = Fs (10.1)
(ii)

F s =

Nm J

57
 done on an object when a force of 1 N displaces
it by 1 m along the line of action of the force.
Look at Eq. (10.1) carefully. What is the
work done when the force on the object is zero?
What would be the work done when the
displacement of the object is zero? Refer to the
conditions that are to be satisfied to say that
work is done. Fig. 10.4

Consider a situation in which an object is

Example 10.1 A force of 5 N is acting on
moving with a uniform velocity along a
an object. The object is displaced particular direction. Now a retarding force, F,
through 2 m in the direction of the force is applied in the opposite direction. That is,
(Fig. 10.2). If the force acts on the object the angle between the two directions is 180º.
all through the displacement, then work Let the object stop after a displacement s. In
done is 5 N 2 m =10 N m or 10 J. such a situation, the work done by the force,
F is taken as negative and denoted by the
minus sign. The work done by the force is
F (–s) or (–F s).
It is clear from the above discussion that
the work done by a force can be either positive
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Q
or negative. To understand this, let us do the
Fig. 10.2
following activity:

Activity ______________ 10.4

uestion Lift an object up. Work is done by the
1. A force of 7 N acts on an object. force exerted by you on the object. The
The displacement is, say 8 m, in object moves upwards. The force you
exe rted is in the direc tion of
the direction of the force
displacement. However, there is the
(Fig. 10.3). Let us take it that the force of gravity acting on the object.
force acts on the object through Which one of these forces is doing
the displacement. What is the positive work?
work done in this case? Which one is doing negative work?
Give reasons.
Work done is negative when the force acts
opposite to the direction of displacement. Work
done is positive when the force is in the
Fig. 10.3
direction of displacement.

Example 10.2 A porter lifts a luggage of

Consider another situation in which the
force and the displacement are in the same 15 kg from the ground and puts it on
direction: a baby pulling a toy car parallel to his head 1.5 m above the ground.
the ground, as shown in Fig. 10.4. The baby Calculate the work done by him on the
has exerted a force in the direction of luggage.
displacement of the car. In this situation, the Solution:
work done will be equal to the product of the
force and displacement. In such situations, the Mass of luggage, m = 15 kg and
work done by the force is taken as positive. displacement, s = 1.5 m.

58 WORK AND ENERGY

 F

° s

F
F (–s)
(–F s).
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m=
s=

59
 Work done, W = F s = mg s hammer falls on a nail placed on a piece of
= 15 kg 10 m s-2 1.5 m wood, it drives the nail into the wood. We have
= 225 kg m s-2 m also observed children winding a toy (such as
= 225 N m = 225 J a toy car) and when the toy is placed on the
Work done is 225 J. floor, it starts moving. When a balloon is filled

Q
with air and we press it we notice a change in
uestions its shape. As long as we press it gently, it can
come back to its original shape when the force
1. When do we say that work is is withdrawn. However, if we press the balloon
done? hard, it can even explode producing a blasting
2. Write an expression for the work sound. In all these examples, the objects
done when a force is acting on an acquire, through different means, the
object in the direction of its capability of doing work. An object having a
displacement. capability to do work is said to possess energy.
3. Define 1 J of work. The object which does the work loses energy
4. A pair of bullocks exerts a force and the object on which the work is done gains
of 140 N on a plough. The field energy.
being ploughed is 15 m long. How does an object with energy do work?
How much work is done in An object that possesses energy can exert a
ploughing the length of the field? force on another object. When this happens,
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energy is transferred from the former to the

10.2 Energy latter. The second object may move as it
receives energy and therefore do some work.
Life is impossible without energy. The demand Thus, the first object had a capacity to do
for energy is ever increasing. Where do we get work. This implies that any object that
energy from? The Sun is the biggest natural possesses energy can do work.
source of energy to us. Many of our energy The energy possessed by an object is thus
sources are derived from the Sun. We can also measured in terms of its capacity of doing
get energy from the nuclei of atoms, the interior work. The unit of energy is, therefore, the same
of the earth, and the tides. Can you think of as that of work, that is, joule (J). 1 J is the
other sources of energy?
energy required to do 1 joule of work.
Sometimes a larger unit of energy called kilo
Activity ______________ 10.5
joule (kJ) is used. 1 kJ equals 1000 J.
A few sources of energy are listed
above. There are many other sources 10.2.1 FORMS OF ENERGY
of energy. List them.
Discuss in small groups how certain Luckily the world we live in provides energy in
sources of energy are due to the Sun. many different forms. The various forms
Are there sources of energy which are
include mechanical energy (potential energy
not due to the Sun?
+ kinetic energy), heat energy, chemical energy,
The word energy is very often used in our electrical energy and light energy.
daily life, but in science we give it a definite
and precise meaning. Let us consider the
following examples: when a fast moving cricket Think it over !
ball hits a stationary wicket, the wicket is How do you know that some entity is a
thrown away. Similarly, an object when raised form of energy? Discuss with your friends
to a certain height gets the capability to do and teachers.
work. You must have seen that when a raised

60 WORK AND ENERGY

 W = F s = mg s
= 15 10 1.5
=
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J
J
kJ
kJ

61
 James Prescott
Joule was an
outstanding
British physicist.
He is best known
for his research in
electricity and
thermodynamics.
Amon gst ot her
th ing s, he Fig. 10.5
formulated a law
for the heating The trolley moves forward and hits the
James Prescott Joule
(1818 – 1889) effect of electric wooden block.
current. He also verified experimentally Fix a stop on the table in such a
manner that the trolley stops after
the law of conservation of energy and
hitting the block. The block gets
discovered the value of the mechanical displaced.
equivalent of heat. The unit of energy and Note down the displacement of the
work called joule, is named after him. block. This means work is done on the
block by the trolley as the block has
gained energy.
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10.2.2 KINETIC ENERGY From where does this energy come?

Repeat this activity by increasing the
mass on the pan. In which case is the
Activity ______________ 10.6 displacement more?
In which case is the work done more?
Take a heavy ball. Drop it on a thick In this activity, the moving trolley
bed of sand. A wet bed of sand would
does work and hence it possesses
be better. Drop the ball on the sand
energy.
bed from height of about 25 cm. The
ball creates a depression. A moving object can do work. An object
Repeat this activity from heights of moving faster can do more work than an
50 cm, 1m and 1.5 m. identical object moving relatively slow. A
Ensure that all the depressions are
moving bullet, blowing wind, a rotating wheel,
distinctly visible.
Mark the depressions to indicate the a speeding stone can do work. How does a
height from whi ch the ball was bullet pierce the target? How does the wind
dropped. move the blades of a windmill? Objects in
Compare their depths. motion possess energy. We call this energy
Which one of them is deepest? kinetic energy.
Which one is shallowest? Why? A falling coconut, a speeding car, a rolling
What has caused the ball to make a
stone, a flying aircraft, flowing water, blowing
deeper dent?
Discuss and analyse. wind, a running athlete etc. possess kinetic
energy. In short, kinetic energy is the energy
Activity ______________ 10.7 possessed by an object due to its motion. The
kinetic energy of an object increases with its
Set up the apparatus as shown in speed.
Fig. 10.5. How much energy is possessed by a moving
Place a wooden block of known mass
body by virtue of its motion? By definition,
in front of the trolley at a convenient
fixed distance. we say that the kinetic energy of a body moving
Place a known mass on the pan so with a certain velocity is equal to the work done
that the trolley starts moving. on it to make it acquire that velocity.

62 WORK AND ENERGY

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63
 Let us now express the kinetic energy of Solution:
an object in the form of an equation. Consider
Mass of the object, m = 15 kg, velocity of
an object of mass, m moving with a uniform
the object, v = 4 m s–1.
velocity, u. Let it now be displaced through a
distance s when a constant force, F acts on it From Eq. (10.5),
in the direction of its displacement. From Eq. 1
Ek = m v2
(10.1), the work done, W is F s. The work done 2
on the object will cause a change in its velocity.
Let its velocity change from u to v. Let a be the 1
= 15 kg 4 m s–1 4 m s–1
acceleration produced. 2
We studied three equations of motion. The = 120 J
relation connecting the initial velocity (u) The kinetic energy of the object is 120 J.
and final velocity (v) of an object moving
with a uniform acceleration a, and the
displacement, s is Example 10.4 What is the work to be done
v2 – u2 = 2a s to increase the velocity of a car from 30
km h–1 to 60 km h–1 if the mass of the
This gives
car is 1500 kg?
v 2 – u2
s= (10.2)
2a Solution:
From section 9.4, we know F = m a. Thus,
Mass of the car, m =1500 kg,
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using (Eq. 10.2) in Eq. (10.1), we can write the

initial velocity of car, u = 30 km h–1
work done by the force, F as
30 ×1000 m
v2 - u2 =
W =ma 60 ×60s
2a
= 25/3 m s–1.
or
Similarly, the final velocity of the car,
1
W = m v 2 – u2 (10.3) v = 60 km h–1
2
= 50/3 m s–1.
If the object is starting from its stationary
position, that is, u = 0, then Therefore, the initial kinetic energy of
the car,
1
W= m v2 (10.4) 1
2 Eki = m u2
2
It is clear that the work done is equal to the
change in the kinetic energy of an object. 1
= 1500 kg (25/3 m s–1)2
1 2
If u = 0, the work done will be m v2 .
2 = 156250/3 J.
Thus, the kinetic energy possessed by an The final kinetic energy of the car,
object of mass, m and moving with a uniform
velocity, v is 1
Ekf = 1500 kg (50/3 m s–1)2
1 2
Ek = m v2 (10.5)
2 = 625000/3 J.
Thus, the work done = Change in
Example 10.3 An object of mass 15 kg is kinetic energy
moving with a uniform velocity of 4 m = Ekf – Eki
s–1. What is the kinetic energy possessed
= 156250 J.
by the object?

64 WORK AND ENERGY

 m m=
u F v=
s
1
Ek = m v2
W Fs 2
u v
1
a =
2

(a)
(u) (v) s

v2 – u2 = 2as

v 2 – u2
s= (10.2)
2a
F = m a.
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m=
u=
(F)
30 × 1000 m
= 60 × 60 s
v2 - u2
W =ma
2a

v
1
W = m v 2 – u2 (10.3)
2
u=0
1
W=
1
m v2 Eki = m u2
(10.4) 2
2
1
1500 (25/3 )
2
1
u=0 m v2
2
m v 1
Ekf = 1500 (50/3 )
2
1
Ek = m v2 (10.5)
2

= Ekf – Eki

= 156250

65
 Q
uestions Activity _____________ 10.11
1. What is the kinetic energy of an Lift an object through a certain
object? height. The object can now do work.
2. Write an expression for the kinetic It begins to fall when released.
energy of an object. This implies that it has acquired
3. The kinetic energy of an object of some energy. If raised to a greater
mass, m moving with a velocity height it can do more work and hence
of 5 m s–1 is 25 J. What will be its possesses more energy.
From where did it get the energy?
kinetic energy when its velocity is
Think and discuss.
doubled? What will be its kinetic
energy when its velocity is In the above situations, the energy gets
increased three times? stored due to the work done on the object. The
energy transferred to an object is stored as
10.2.3 POTENTIAL ENERGY potential energy if it is not used to cause a
change in the velocity or speed of the object.
Activity ______________ 10.8 You transfer energy when you stretch a
rubber band. The energy transferred to the
Take a rubber band.
Hold it at one end and pull from the band is its potential energy. You do work while
other. The band stretches. winding the key of a toy car. The energy
Release the band at one of the ends. transferred to the spring inside is stored as
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What happens? potential energy. The potential energy

The band will tend to regain its possessed by the object is the energy present
original length. Obviously the band in it by virtue of its position or configuration.
had acquired energy in its stretched
position.
How did it acquire energy when
Activity _____________ 10.12
stretched? Take a bamboo stick and make a bow
as shown in Fig. 10.6.
Activity ______________ 10.9 Place an arrow made of a light stick
on it with one end supported by the
Take a slinky as shown below.
Ask a friend to hold one of its ends. stretched string.
You hold the other end and move away Now stretch the string and release the
from your friend. Now you release the arrow.
slinky. Notice the arrow flying off the bow.
Notice the change in the shape of the
bow.
The potential energy stored in the bow
due to the change of shape is thus
What happened? used in the form of kinetic energy in
How did the slinky acquire energy throwing off the arrow.
when stretched?
Would the slinky acquire energy when
it is compressed?

Activity _____________ 10.10

Take a toy car. Wind it using its key.
Place the car on the ground.
Did it move?
From where did it acquire energy?
Does the energy acquired depend on
the number of windings? Fig.10.6: An arrow and the stretched string
How can you test this? on the bow.

66 WORK AND ENERGY

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67
 10.2.4 POTENTIAL ENERGY OF AN OBJECT
The potential energy of an object at

More to know
AT A HEIGHT a height depends on the ground level
or the zero level you choose. An
An object increases its energy when raised
object in a given position can have a
through a height. This is because work is done
certain potential energy with respect
on it against gravity while it is being raised.
to one level and a different value of
The energy present in such an object is the
potential energy with respect to
gravitational potential energy.
another level.
The gravitational potential energy of an
object at a point above the ground is defined
as the work done in raising it from the ground It is useful to note that the work done by
to that point against gravity. gravity depends on the difference in vertical
It is easy to arrive at an expression for the heights of the initial and final positions of the
object and not on the path along which the
gravitational potential energy of an object at a
object is moved. Fig. 10.8 shows a case where
height.
a block is raised from position A to B by taking
two different paths. Let the height AB = h. In
both the situations the work done on the object
is mgh.
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Fig. 10.7
Fig. 10.8
Consider an object of mass, m. Let it be
raised through a height, h from the ground. A Example 10.5 Find the energy possessed
force is required to do this. The minimum force by an object of mass 10 kg when it is at
required to raise the object is equal to the a height of 6 m above the ground. Given,
weight of the object, mg. The object gains g = 9.8 m s–2.
energy equal to the work done on it. Let the
work done on the object against gravity be W. Solution:
That is,
work done, W = force displacement Mass of th e ob ject, m = 10 kg,
= mg h displacement (height), h = 6 m, and
= mgh acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8 m s–2.
Since work done on the object is equal to From Eq. (10.6),
mgh, an energy equal to mgh units is gained Potential energy = mgh
by the object. This is the potential energy (EP) = 10 kg 9.8 m s–2 6 m
= 588 J.
of the object.
The potential energy is 588 J.
Ep = mgh (10.6)

68 WORK AND ENERGY

 A
B
AB = h
mgh.
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m h

g=
mg

W
m=
W
h=
= mg h g=
= mgh
mgh mgh = mgh
=
Ep =
Ep = mgh (10.6)

69
 Example 10.6 An object of mass 12 kg is 10.2.6 LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY
at a certain height above the ground. If In activities 10.13 and 10.14, we learnt that
the potential energy of the object is 480 the form of energy can be changed from one
J, find the height at which the object is form to another. What happens to the total
with respect to the ground. Given, g =
energy of a system during or after the process?
10 m s–2.
Whenever energy gets transformed, the total
energy remains unchanged. This is the law of
Solution:
conservation of energy. According to this law,
Mass of the object, m = 12 kg, energy can only be converted from one form
potential energy, Ep = 480 J. to another; it can neither be created or
Ep = mgh destroyed. The total energy before and after
480 J = 12 kg 10 m s–2 h the transformation remains the same. The law
480 J of conservation of energy is valid in all
h = 120 kg m s –2 = 4 m. situations and for all kinds of transformations.
Consider a simple example. Let an object
The object is at the height of 4 m. of mass, m be made to fall freely from a height,
h. At the start, the potential energy is mgh and
10.2.5 A RE VAR IOUS ENE RGY FORM S kinetic energy is zero. Why is the kinetic
INTERCONVERTIBLE? energy zero? It is zero because its velocity is
zero. The total energy of the object is thus mgh.
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Can we convert energy from one form to As it falls, its potential energy will change into
another? We find in nature a number of kinetic energy. If v is the velocity of the object
instances of conversion of energy from one form at a given instant, the kinetic energy would be
to another. ½mv2. As the fall of the object continues, the
Activity _____________ 10.13 potential energy would decrease while the
kinetic energy would increase. When the object
Sit in small groups. is about to reach the ground, h = 0 and v will
Discuss the various ways of energy
be the highest. Therefore, the kinetic energy
conversion in nature.
Discuss following questions in your would be the largest and potential energy the
group: least. However, the sum of the potential energy
(a) How do green plants produce and kinetic energy of the object would be the
food? same at all points. That is,
(b) Where do they get their energy potential energy + kinetic energy = constant
from? or
(c) Why does the air move from place
to place? 1
mgh + mv 2= constant. (10.7)
(d) How are fuels, such as coal and 2
petroleum formed?
The sum of kinetic energy and potential energy
(e) What kinds of energy conversions
sustain the water cycle? of an object is its total mechanical energy.
We find that during the free fall of the object,
Activity _____________ 10.14 the decrease in potential energy, at any point
Many of the human activities and the in its path, appears as an equal amount of
gadgets we use involve conversion of increase in kinetic energy. (Here the effect of
energy from one form to another. air resistance on the motion of the object has
Make a list of such activities and
gadgets.
been ignored.) There is thus a continual
Identify in each activity/gadget the transformation of gravitational potential
kind of energy conversion that takes energy into kinetic energy.
place.

70 WORK AND ENERGY

 g = 10 .

m=
Ep =
Ep = mgh
h

480
h
120
m
h
mgh

mgh
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v
½mv 2

h=0 v

1
mgh + mv 2 =
2

71
 Activity _____________ 10.15 A stronger person may do certain work in
relatively less time. A more powerful vehicle
An object of mass 20 kg is dropped would complete a journey in a shorter time
from a height of 4 m. Fill in the blanks than a less powerful one. We talk of the power
in the following table by computing of machines like motorbikes and motorcars.
the potential energy and kinetic
The speed with which these vehicles change
energy in each case.
energy or do work is a basis for their
Height at Potential Kinetic Ep + Ek classification. Power measures the speed of
which object energy energy work done, that is, how fast or slow work is
is located (Ep= mgh) (Ek = mv2/2) done. Power is defined as the rate of doing
work or the rate of transfer of energy. If an
m J J J
agent does a work W in time t, then power is
4 given by:
3 Power = work/time
2
W
1 or P= (10.8)
t
Just above
the ground
The unit of power is watt [in honour of
James Watt (1736 – 1819)] having the symbol
For simplifying the calculations, take W. 1 watt is the power of an agent, which does
work at the rate of 1 joule per second. We can
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the value of g as 10 m s–2.

also say that power is 1 W when the rate of
Think it over ! consumption of energy is 1 J s–1.
What would have happened if nature had 1 watt = 1 joule/second or 1 W = 1 J s–1.
not allowed the transformation of energy? We express larger rates of energy transfer in
There is a view that life could not have been kilowatts (kW).
possible without transformation of energy. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts
Do you agree with this? 1 kW = 1000 W
1 kW = 1000 J s–1.
The power of an agent may vary with time.
10.3 Rate of Doing Work This means that the agent may be doing work
Do all of us work at the same rate? Do at different rates at different intervals of time.
machines consume or transfer energy at the Therefore the concept of average power is
same rate? Agents that transfer energy do useful. We obtain average power by dividing
work at different rates. Let us understand this the total energy consumed by the total time
from the following activity: taken.

Activity _____________ 10.16 Example 10.7 Two girls, each of weight 400
Consider two children, say A and B. N climb up a rope through a height of 8
Let us say they weigh the same. Both m. We name one of the girls A and the
start climbing up a rope separately. other B. Girl A takes 20 s while B takes
Both reach a height of 8 m. Let us
say A takes 15 s while B takes 20 s to 50 s to accomplish this task. What is the
accomplish the task. power expended by each girl?
What is the work done by each?
Solution:
The work done is the same. However,
A has taken less time than B to do (i) Power expended by girl A:
the work. Weight of the girl, mg = 400 N
Who has done more work in a given
time, say in 1 s? Displacement (height), h = 8 m

72 WORK AND ENERGY

 h (Ep= mgh) (Ek = mv2/2) (Ep + Ek)
m J J J
t W

W
P= (10.8)
t
(
] W
g
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W= J s–1.
kW

kW W
kW J s–1.

A, B N

A B
A A
B B

A B A
mg = 400 N
h=8m

73
 Time taken, t = 20 s power, P = Work done/time taken
From Eq. (10.8),
mgh
Power, P = Work done/time taken =
t
mgh
= 500 N 6.75 m
t = 9s
400 N 8 m = 375 W.
=
20 s
Power is 375 W.

Q
= 160 W.
(ii) Power expended by girl B:
Weight of the girl, mg = 400 N
uestions
Displacement (height), h = 8 m 1. What is power?
Time taken, t = 50 s 2. Define 1 watt of power.
3. A lamp consumes 1000 J of
mgh
Power, P = electrical energy in 10 s. What is
t its power?
400 N × 8 m 4. Define average power.
=
50 s
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= 64 W. Activity _____________ 10.17

Power expended by girl A is 160 W. Take a close look at the electric meter
Power expended by girl B is 64 W. installed in your house. Observe its
features closely.
Take the readings of the meter each
day at 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.
Example 10.8 A boy of mass 50 kg runs Do this activity for about a week.
up a staircase of 45 steps in 9 s. If the How many ‘units’ are consumed
height of each step is 15 cm, find his during day time?
power. Take g = 10 m s–2. How many ‘units’ are used during night?
Tabulate your observations.
Solution: Draw inferences from the data.
Compare your observations with
Weight of the boy, the details given in the monthly
mg = 50 kg 10 m s–2 = 500 N electricity bill (One can also estimate
Height of the staircase, the electricity to be consumed by
h = 45 15/100 m = 6.75 m specific appliances by tabulating their
Time taken to climb, t = 9 s known wattages and ho urs of
From Eq. (10.8), operation).

74 WORK AND ENERGY

 t= P=
mgh
P = =
t
mgh
= 500 × 6.75
t =
9
400 8
= = 375
20
= 160

B
mg =
h=
t=
mgh
P =
t

400 8
=
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50
= 64
A
B

g=

mg =

h=
t=

75
 What
you have
learnt
Work done on an object is defined as the magnitude of the
force multiplied by the distance moved by the object in the
direction of the applied force. The unit of work is joule:
1 joule = 1 newton 1 metre.
Work done on an object by a force would be zero if the
displacement of the object is zero.
An object having capability to do work is said to possess
energy. Energy has the same unit as that of work.
An object in motion possesses what is known as the kinetic
energy of the object. An object of mass, m moving with velocity
1 2
v has a kinetic energy of 2 mv .
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The energy possessed by a body due to its change in position

or shape is called the potential energy. The gravitational
potential energy of an object of mass, m raised through a
height, h from the earth’s surface is given by m g h.
According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can
only be transformed from one form to another; it can neither
be created nor destroyed. The total energy before and after
the transformation always remains constant.
Energy exists in nature in several forms such as kinetic
energy, potential energy, heat energy, chemical energy etc.
The sum of the kinetic and potential energies of an object is
called its mechanical energy.
Power is defined as the rate of doing work. The SI unit of
power is watt. 1 W = 1 J/s.

Exercises
1. Look at the activities listed below. Reason out whether or
not work is done in the light of your understanding of the
term ‘work’.
Suma is swimming in a pond.
A donkey is carrying a load on its back.
A wind-mill is lifting water from a well.
A green plant is carrying out photosynthesis.
An engine is pulling a train.

76 WORK AND ENERGY

 m v
1
mv 2
2
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m h
m g h.

77
 Food grains are getting dried in the sun.
A sailboat is moving due to wind energy.
2. An object thrown at a certain angle to the ground moves in
a curved path and falls back to the ground. The initial and
the final points of the path of the object lie on the same
horizontal line. What is the work done by the force of gravity
on the object?
3. A battery lights a bulb. Describe the energy changes involved
in the process.
4. Certain force acting on a 20 kg mass changes its velocity
from 5 m s–1 to 2 m s–1. Calculate the work done by the
force.
5. A mass of 10 kg is at a point A on a table. It is moved to a
point B. If the line joining A and B is horizontal, what is the
work done on the object by the gravitational force? Explain
your answer.
6. The potential energy of a freely falling object decreases
progressively. Does this violate the law of conservation of
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energy? Why?
7. What are the various energy transformations that occur
when you are riding a bicycle?
8. Does the transfer of energy take place when you push a
huge rock with all your might and fail to move it? Where is
the energy you spend going?
9. A certain household has consumed 250 units of energy
during a month. How much energy is this in joules?
10. An object of mass 40 kg is raised to a height of 5 m above
the ground. What is its potential energy? If the object is
allowed to fall, find its kinetic energy when it is half-way
down.
11. What is the work done by the force of gravity on a satellite
moving round the earth? Justify your answer.
12. Can there be displacement of an object in the absence of
any force acting on it? Think. Discuss this question with
your friends and teacher.
13. A person holds a bundle of hay over his head for 30 minutes
and gets tired. Has he done some work or not? Justify your
answer.
14. An electric heater is rated 1500 W. How much energy does
it use in 10 hours?
15. Illustrate the law of conservation of energy by discussing
the energy changes which occur when we draw a pendulum
bob to one side and allow it to oscillate. Why does the bob

78 WORK AND ENERGY

 www.apteachers.in

A
A

W
B
B

79
 eventually come to rest? What happens to its energy
eventually? Is it a violation of the law of conservation of
energy?
16. An object of mass, m is moving with a constant velocity, v.
How much work should be done on the object in order to
bring the object to rest?
17. Calculate the work required to be done to stop a car of 1500
kg moving at a velocity of 60 km/h?
18. In each of the following a force, F is acting on an object of
mass, m. The direction of displacement is from west to east
shown by the longer arrow. Observe the diagrams carefully
and state whether the work done by the force is negative,
positive or zero.
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19. Soni says that the acceleration in an object could b e zero

even when several forces are acting on it. Do you agree with
her? Why?
20. Find the energy in joules consumed in 10 hours by four
devices of power 500 W each.
21. A freely falling object eventually stops on reaching the ground.
What happenes to its kinetic energy?

80 WORK AND ENERGY

 www.apteachers.in

m
m
v

81
S
 C hapter 11
SOUND
Everyday we hear sounds from various
sources like humans, birds, bells, machines,
vehicles, televisions, radios etc. Sound is a
form of energy which produces a sensation of
hearing in our ears. There are also other forms
of energy like mechanical energy, light energy,
etc. We have talked about mechanical energy
in the previous chapters. You have been
taught about conservation of energy, which
states that we can neither create nor destroy
energy. We can just change it from one form
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to another. When you clap, a sound is

produced. Can you produce sound without
utilising your energy? Which form of energy
did you use to produce sound? In this Fig. 11.1: Vibrating tuning fork just touching the
chapter we are going to learn how sound is suspended table tennis ball.
produced and how it is transmitted through
a medium and received by our ears. Activity ______________ 11.2
Fill water in a beaker or a glass up to
11.1 Production of Sound the brim. Gently touch the water
surface with one of the prongs of the
vibrating tuning fork, as shown in Fig.
Activity ______________ 11.1 11.2.
Take a tuning fork and set it vibrating Next dip the prongs of the vibrating
by striking its prong on a rubber pad. tuning fork in water, as shown in Fig.
Bring it near your ear. 11.3.
Do you hear any sound? Observe what happens in both the
Touch one of th e prongs of the cases.
vibrating tuning fork with your finger Discuss with your friends why this
and share your experience with your happens.
friends.
Now, suspend a table tennis ball or a
small plastic ball by a thread from a
support [Take a big needle and a
thread, put a knot at one end of the
thread, and then with the help of the
needle pass the thread through the
ball]. Touch the ball gently with the
prong of a vibrating tuning
fork (Fig. 11.1).
Observe what happens and discuss Fig. 11.2: One of the prongs of the vibrating tuning
with your friends. fork touching the water surface.

82 SOUND
 www.apteachers.in

11

83
 particles do not travel all the way from the
vibrating object to the ear. A particle of the
medium in contact with the vibrating object
is first displaced from its equilibrium position.
It then exerts a force on the adjacent particle.
As a result of which the adjacent particle gets
displaced from its position of rest. After
displacing the adjacent particle the first
particle comes back to its original position.
This process continues in the medium till the
sound reaches your ear. The disturbance
Fig. 11.3: Both the prongs of the vibrating tuning created by a source of sound in the medium
fork dipped in water travels through the medium and not the
particles of the medium.
From the above activities what do you A wave is a disturbance that moves
conclude? Can you produce sound without a through a medium when the particles of the
vibrating object? medium set neighbouring particles into
In the above activities we have produced motion. They in turn produce similar motion
sound by striking the tuning fork. We can also in others. The particles of the medium do not
produce sound by plucking, scratching, move forward themselves, but the disturbance
rubbing, blowing or shaking different objects. is carried forward. This is what happens
during propagation of sound in a medium,
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As per the above activities what do we do to

the objects? We set the objects vibrating and hence sound can be visualised as a wave.
produce sound. Vibration means a kind of Sound waves are characterised by the motion
rapid to and fro motion of an object. The of particles in the medium and are called
sound of the human voice is produced due to mechanical waves.
vibrations in the vocal cords. When a bird flaps Air is the most common medium through
its wings, do you hear any sound? Think how which sound travels. When a vibrating object
the buzzing sound accompanying a bee is moves forward, it pushes and compresses the
produced. A stretched rubber band when air in front of it creating a region of high
plucked vibrates and produces sound. If you pressure. This region is called a compression
have never done this, then do it and observe (C), as shown in Fig. 11.4. This compression
the vibration of the stretched rubber band. starts to move away from the vibrating object.
When the vibrating object moves backwards,
Activity ______________ 11.3 it creates a region of low pressure called
rarefaction (R), as shown in Fig. 11.4. As the
Make a list of different types of object moves back and forth rapidly, a series
musical instruments and discuss of compressions and rarefactions is created in
with your friends which part of the the air. These make the sound wave that
ins trum ent vibrates to prod uce
sound.

11.2 Propagation of Sound

Sound is produced by vibrating objects. The
matter or substance through which sound is
transmitted is called a medium. It can be solid,
liquid or gas. Sound moves through a medium
from the point of generation to the listener.
When an object vibrates, it sets the particles Fig. 11.4: A vibrating object creating a series of
of the medium around it vibrating. The compressions (C) and rarefactions (R) in
the medium.

84 SOUND
 www.apteachers.in

(R
(C)

(C),
(R)

85
 propagates through the medium. The regions where the coils become closer
Compression is the region of high pressure are called compressions (C) and the regions
and rarefaction is the region of low pressure. where the coils are further apart are called
Pressure is related to the number of particles rarefactions (R). As we already know, sound
of a medium in a given volume. More density propagates in the medium as a series of
of the particles in the medium gives more compressions and rarefactions. Now, we can
pressure and vice versa. Thus, propagation compare the propagation of disturbance in a
of sound can be visualised as propagation of
slinky with the sound propagation in the
density variations or pressure variations in the
medium. These waves are called longitudinal
medium.

Q
waves. In these waves the individual particles
of the medium move in a direction parallel to
uestion the direction of propagation of the disturbance.
1. How does the sound produced by The particles do not move from one place to
a vibrating object in a medium another but they simply oscillate back and
reach your ear? forth about their position of rest. This is
2. Explain how sound is produced exactly how a sound wave propagates, hence
by your school bell. sound waves are longitudinal waves.
3. Why are sound waves called There is also another type of wave, called
mechanical waves? a transverse wave. In a transverse wave
4. Suppose you and your friend are particles do not oscillate along the direction
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on the moon. Will you be able to of wave propagation but oscillate up and down
hear any sound produced by about their mean position as the wave travels.
your friend? Thus, a transverse wave is the one in which
the individual particles of the medium move
11.2.1 SOUND WAVES ARE LONGITUDINAL about their mean positions in a direction
WAVES perpendicular to the direction of wave
propagation. When we drop a pebble in a
Activity ______________ 11.4 pond, the waves you see on the water surface
Take a slinky. Ask your friend to hold is an example of transverse wave. Light is a
one end. You hold the other end. transverse wave but for light, the oscillations
Now stretch the slinky as shown in are not of the medium particles or their
Fig. 11.5(a). Then give it a sharp push pressure or density— it is not a mechanical
towards your friend. wave. You will come to know more about
What do you notice? If you move your transverse waves in higher classes.
hand pushing and pulling the slinky
alternatively, what will you observe?
If you mark a dot on the slinky, you
11.2.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF A SOUND WAVE
will observe that the dot on the slinky We can describe a sound wave by its
will move back and forth parallel to frequency
the direction of the propagation of the
amplitude and
disturbance.
speed.
A sound wave in graphic form is shown in
Fig. 11.6(c), which represents how density and
(a) pressure change when the sound wave moves
in the medium. The density as well as the
pressure of the medium at a given time varies
with distance, above and below the average
value of density and pressure. Fig. 11.6(a) and
(b)
Fig. 11.5: Longitudinal wave in a slinky.

86 SOUND
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87
( )
C
R
 Fig. 11.6(b) represent the density and
Heinrich Rudolph Hertz
pressure variations, respectively, as a sound was born on 22 February
wave propagates in the medium. 1857 in H amburg,
Compressions are the regions where Germany and educated at
part icles are cro wded togeth er and the University of Berlin. He
represented by the upper portion of the curve confirmed J.C. Maxwell’s
in Fig. 11.6(c). The peak represents the region electromagnetic theory by
of maximum compr ession. T hus, his experiments. He laid
compressions are regions where density as H. R. Hertz the foundation for future
well as pressure is high. Rarefactions are the development of radio, telephone, telegraph
regions of low pressure where particles are and even television. He also discovered the
spread apart and are represented by the photoelectric effect which was later explained
valley, that is, the lower portion of the curve by Albert Einstein. The SI unit of frequency
in Fig. 11.6(c). A peak is called the crest and a was named as hertz in his honour.
valley is called the trough of a wave.
The distance between two consecutive Frequency tells us how frequently an
compressions (C) or two consecutive event occurs. Suppose you are beating a
rarefactions (R) is called the wavelength, as drum. How many times you are beating the
shown in Fig. 11.6(c), The wavelength is drum in unit time is called the frequency of
usually represented by (Greek letter your beating the drum. We know that when
lambda). Its SI unit is metre (m). sound is propagated through a medium, the
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Fig. 11.6: Sound propagates as density or pressure variations as shown in (a) and (b), (c) represents
graphically the density and pressure variations.

88 SOUND
 www.apteachers.in

(R)

:
(C)

SI
m
SI

89
 density of the medium oscillates between a
maximum value and a minimum value. The
change in density from the maximum value
to the minimum value, then again to the
maximum value, makes one complete
oscillation. The number of such oscillations
per unit time is the frequency of the sound
wave. If we can count the number of the
compressions or rarefactions that cross us
per unit time, we will get the frequency of
the sound wave. It is usually represented by
(Greek letter, nu). Its SI unit is hertz
(symbol, Hz).
The time taken by two consecutive
compressions or rarefactions to cross a fixed
point is called the time period of the wave. In
other words, we can say that the time taken
for one complete oscillation is called the time
period of the sound wave. It is represented by Fig. 11.7: Low pitch sound has low frequency and
high pitch of sound has high frequency.
the symbol T. Its SI unit is second (s).
Frequency and time period are related as as shown in Fig. 11.6(c). For sound its unit
follows:
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will be that of density or pressure.

1 The loudness or softness of a sound is
v
T determined basically by its amplitude. The
amplitude of the sound wave depends upon
A violin and a flute may both be played at
the force with which an object is made to
the same time in an orchestra. Both sounds
vibrate. If we strike a table lightly, we hear a
travel through the same medium, that is, air
soft sound because we produce a sound wave
and arrive at our ear at the same time. Both
sounds travel at the same speed irrespective of less energy (amplitude). If we hit the table
of the source. But the sounds we receive are
different. This is due to the different
characteristics associated with the sound.
Pitch is one of the characteristics.
How the brain interprets the frequency
of an emitted sound is called its pitch. The
faster the vibration of the source, the
higher is the frequency and the higher is
the pitch, as shown in Fig. 11.7. Thus, a
high pitch sound corresponds to more
number of compressions and rarefactions
passing a fixed point per unit time.
Objects of different sizes and conditions
vibrate at different frequencies to produce
sounds of different pitch.
The magnitude of the maximum
disturbance in the medium on either side of
the mean value is called the amplitude of the
Fig. 11.8: Soft sound has small amplitude and
wave. It is usually represented by the letter A, louder sound has large amplitude.

90 SOUND
 v
SI Hz

T S.I.
S
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1
v
T

:
A

91
 hard we hear a louder sound. Can you tell Example 11.1 A sound wave has a
why? A sound wave spreads out from its frequency of 2 kHz and wave length
source. As it moves away from the source its 35 cm. How long will it take to travel
amplitude as well as its loudness decreases. 1.5 km?
Louder sound can travel a larger distance as
it is associated with higher energy. Fig. 11.8 Solution:
shows the wave shapes of a loud and a soft Given,
sound of the same frequency. Frequency, = 2 kHz = 2000 Hz
The quality or timber of sound is that Wavelength, = 35 cm = 0.35 m
characteristic which enables us to distinguish We know that speed, v of the wave
one sound from another having the same pitch = wavelength frequency
and loudness. The sound which is more v =
pleasant is said to be of a rich quality. A sound = 0.35 m 2000 Hz = 700 m/s
of single frequency is called a tone. The sound The time taken by the wave to travel a
which is produced due to a mixture of several distance, d of 1.5 km is
frequencies is called a note and is pleasant to
listen to. Noise is unpleasant to the ear! Music

Q
is pleasant to hear and is of rich quality.
Thus sound will take 2.1 s to travel a
uestions distance of 1.5 km.

Q
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1. Which wave property determines

(a) loudness, (b) pitch? uestions
2. Guess which sound has a higher 1. What are wavelength, frequency,
pitch: guitar or car horn? time period and amplitude of a
sound wave?
2. How are the wavelength and
The speed of sound is defined as the frequency of a sound wave
distance which a point on a wave, such as a related to its speed?
compression or a rarefaction, travels per unit 3. Calculate the wavelength of a
time. sound wave whose frequency is
We know, 220 Hz and speed is 440 m/s in
speed, v = distance / time a given medium.
4. A person is listening to a tone of
= 500 Hz sitting at a distance of
T 450 m from the source of the
Here is the wavelength of the sound wave. It sound. What is the time interval
is the distance travelled by the sound wave in between successive compressions
one time period (T) of the wave. Thus, from the source?

v= The amount of sound energy passing each

second through unit area is called the intensity
or v= of sound. We sometimes use the terms
“loudness” and “intensity” interchangeably,
That is, speed = wavelength frequency.
but they are not the same. Loudness is a
The speed of sound remains almost the measure of the response of the ear to the sound.
same for all frequencies in a given medium Even when two sounds are of equal intensity,
under the same physical conditions. we may hear one as louder than the other
simply because our ear detects it better.

92 SOUND
 = 2 kHz = 2000 Hz
= 35 cm = 0.35 m
v ×

v =
= 0.35 m 2000 Hz = 700 m/s
d
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v=

=
T
Hz
T

v=

v=

93
 Q Q
uestion uestion
1. Distinguish between loudness 1. In which of the three media, air,
and intensity of sound. water or iron, does sound travel
the fastest at a particular
11.2.3 S PEED OF SOUND IN DIFFERENT temperature?
MEDIA

Sound propagates through a medium at a finite 11.3 Reflection of Sound

speed. The sound of a thunder is heard a little
later than the flash of light is seen. So, we can Sound bounces off a solid or a liquid like a
make out that sound travels with a speed rubber ball bounces off a wall. Like light, sound
which is much less than the speed of light. The gets reflected at the surface of a solid or liquid
speed of sound depends on the properties of and follows the same laws of reflection as you
the medium through which it travels. You will have studied in earlier classes. The directions
learn about this dependence in higher classes. in which the sound is incident and is reflected
The speed of sound in a medium depends on make equal angles with the normal to the
reflecting surface at the point of incidence, and
temperature of the medium. The speed of
the three are in the same plane. An obstacle of
sound decreases when we go from solid to
large size which may be polished or rough is
gaseous state. In any medium as we increase
needed for the reflection of sound waves.
the temperature, the speed of sound increases.
For example, the speed of sound in air is 331
Activity ______________ 11.5
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m s–1 at 0 ºC and 344 m s–1 at 22 ºC. The speeds

of sound at a particular temperature in various Take two identical pipes, as shown in
media are listed in Table 11.1. You need not Fig. 11.9. You can make the pipes
memorise the values. using chart paper. The length of the
pipes should be sufficiently long
as shown.
Table 11.1: Speed of sound in
Arrange them on a table near a wall.
different media at 25 ºC Keep a clock near the open end of one
of the pipes and try to hear the sound
State Substance Speed in m/s of the clock through the other pipe.
Adjust the position of the pipes so
Solids Aluminium 6420
that you can best hear the sound of
Nickel 6040 the clock.
Steel 5960 Now, measure the angles of incidence
and ref lection and see the
Iron 5950 relationship between the angles.
Brass 4700 Lift the pipe on the right vertically
to a sm all heig ht a nd o bser ve
Glass (Flint) 3980
what happens.
Liquids Water (Sea) 1531 (In place of a clock, a mobile phone
on vibrating mode may also be used.)
Water (distilled) 1498
Ethanol 1207
Methanol 1103

Gases Hydrogen 1284

Helium 965
Air 346
Oxygen 316
Sulphur dioxide 213 Fig. 11.9: Reflection of sound

94 SOUND
 0°C
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°C

11.1: 25 °C

95
 11.3.1 ECHO What is the distance of the cliff from the
person if the speed of the sound, v is
If we shout or clap near a suitable taken as 346 m s–1?
reflecting object such as a tall building or a
mountain,we will hear the same sound Solution:
again a little later. This sound which we
hear is called an echo. The sensation of Given,
sound persists in our brain for about 0.1 Speed of sound, v = 346 m s–1
s. To hear a distinct echo the time interval Time taken for hearing the echo,
b et we e n th e o r i gin a l so un d an d th e t=2s
reflected one must be at least 0.1s. If we Distance travelled by the sound
take the speed of sound to be 344 m/s at a = v t = 346 m s–1 2 s = 692 m
given temperature, say at 22 ºC in air, the In 2 s sound has to travel twice the
sound must go to the obstacle and reach distance between the cliff and the
back the ear of the listener on reflection after person. Hence, the distance between the
0.1s. Hence, the total distance covered by cliff and the person
the sound from the point of generation to
= 692 m/2 = 346 m.
the reflecting surface and back should be

Q
at least (344 m/s) 0.1 s = 34.4 m. Thus,
for hearing distinct echoes, the minimum uestion
distance of the obstacle from the source of
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1. An echo is heard in 3 s. What is

sound must be half of this distance, that
is, 17.2 m. This distance will change with the distance of the reflecting
the temperature of air. Echoes may be heard surface from the source, given that
mor e than once due to successive or the speed of sound is 342 m s–1?
multiple reflections. The rolling of thunder
is due to the successive reflections of the 11.3.3 U SES OF MULTIPLE REFLECTION
sound from a number of reflecting surfaces, OF SOUND
such as the clouds and the land.
1. Megaphones or loudhailers, horns,
11.3.2 REVERBERATION musical instruments such as trumpets
and shehanais, are all designed to send
A sound created in a big hall will persist
sound in a particular direction without
by repeated reflection from the walls until
spreading it in all directions, as shown
it is reduced to a value where it is no longer
audible. The repeated reflection th at in Fig 11.10.
results in this persistence of sound is
called reverberation. In an auditorium or
big hall excessive reverberation is highly
undesirable. To reduce reverberation, the
roof an d walls of the auditorium are
generally covered with sound-absorbent
Megaphone
materials like compressed fibreboard,
rough plaster or dr aperies. The seat
materials are also selected on the basis of
their sound absorbing properties.

Horn
Example 11.2 A person clapped his hands
near a cliff and heard the echo after 2 s. Fig 11.10: A megaphone and a horn.

96 SOUND
 v=

t=

=v t = 346 ×2 = 692

ºC

= =
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97
 In these instruments, a tube followed
by a conical opening reflects sound
successively to guide most of the
sound waves from the source in the
forward direction towards the
audience.
2. Stethoscope is a medical instrument
used for listening to sounds produced
within the body, mainly in the heart or
lungs. In stethoscopes the sound of the
patient’s heartbeat reaches the doctor’s
ears by multiple reflection of sound, as
shown in Fig.11.11.

Fig. 11.13: Sound board used in a big hall.

Q
uestion
1. Why are the ceilings of concert
halls curved?
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Fig.11.11: Stethoscope 11.4 Range of Hearing

3. Generally the ceilings of concert halls, The audible range of sound for human beings
conference halls and cinema halls are extends from about 20 Hz to 20000 Hz (one
curved so that sound after reflection Hz = one cycle/s). Children under the age of
reaches all corners of the hall, as five and some animals, such as dogs can hear
shown in Fig 11.12. Sometimes a up to 25 kHz (1 kHz = 1000 Hz). As people
curved soundboard may be placed grow older their ears become less sensitive to
behind the stage so that the sound, higher frequencies. Sounds of frequencies
after reflecting from the sound board, below 20 Hz are called infrasonic sound or
spreads evenly across the width of the infrasound. If we could hear infrasound we
hall (Fig 11.13). would hear the vibrations of a pendulum just
as we hear the vibrations of the wings of a bee.
Rhinoceroses communicate using infrasound
of frequency as low as 5 Hz. Whales and
elephants produce sound in the infrasound
range. It is observed that some animals get
disturbed before earthquakes. Earthquakes
produce low-frequency infrasound before the
main shock waves begin which possibly alert
the animals. Frequencies higher than 20 kHz
are called ultrasonic sound or ultrasound.
Ultrasound is produced by animals such as
dolphins, bats and porpoises. Moths of certain
families have very sensitive hearing equipment.
Fig. 11.12: Curved ceiling of a conference hall. These moths can hear the high frequency

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:
:
:

99
 squeaks of the bat and know when a bat construction of big structures like
is flying nearby, and are able to escape buildings, bridges, machines and also
capt ure. Rats a lso play games by scientific equipment. The cracks or
producing ultrasound. holes inside the metal blocks, which
are invisible from outside reduces the
strength of the structure. Ultrasonic
Hearing Aid: People with hearing loss may waves are allowed to pass through the
need a hearing aid. A hearing aid is an metal block and detectors are used to
electronic, battery operated device. The detect the transmitted waves. If there
hearing aid receives sound through a is even a small defect, the ultrasound
microphone. The microphone converts the gets reflected back indicating the
sound waves to electrical signals. These presence of the flaw or defect, as shown
electrical signals are amplified by an in Fig. 11.14.
amplifier. The amplified electrical signals
are given to a speaker of the hearing aid.
The speaker converts the amplified
electrical signal to sound and sends to the
ear for clear hearing.

Q
uestions
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1. What is the audible range of the

average human ear?
2. What is the range of frequencies Fig 11.14: Ultrasound is reflected back from the
associated with defective locations inside a metal block.
(a) Infrasound?
(b) Ultrasound? Ordinary sound of longer wavelengths
cannot be used for such purpose as it will
11.5 Applications of Ultrasound bend around the corners of the defective
location and enter the detector.
Ultrasounds are high frequency waves. Ultrasonic waves are made to reflect
Ultrasounds are able to travel along well- from various parts of the heart and
defined paths even in the presence of form the image of the heart. This tech-
obstacles. Ultrasounds are used extensively nique is called ‘echocardiography’.
in industries and for medical purposes. Ultrasound scanner is an instrument
Ultrasound is generally used to clean which uses ultrasonic waves for
parts located in hard-to-reach places,
getting images of internal organs of the
for example, spiral tube, odd shaped
human body. A doctor may image the
parts, electronic components, etc.
patient’s organs, such as the liver, gall
Objects to be cleaned are placed in a
bladder, uterus, kidney, etc. It helps
cleaning solution and ultrasonic waves
the doctor to detect abnormalities,
are sent into the solution. Due to
the high frequency, the particles of such as stones in the gall bladder and
dust, grease and dirt get detached and kidney or tumours in different organs.
drop out. Th e objects th us get In this technique the ultrasonic waves
thoroughly cleaned. travel through the tissues of the body
Ultrasounds can be used to detect and get reflected from a region where
cracks and flaws in metal blocks. in there is a change of tissue density.

100 SOUND
 www.apteachers.in

101
 These waves are then converted into examination of the foetus during
electrical signals that are used to pregnancy to detect congenial defects
generate images of the organ. These and growth abnormalities.
images are then displayed on a monitor Ultrasound may be employed to break
or printed on a film. This technique small ‘stones’ formed in the kidneys
is called ‘ultrasonography’. into fine grains. These grains later get
Ultrasonography is also used for flushed out with urine.

What
you have
learnt
Sound is produced due to vibration of different objects.
Sound travels as a longitudinal wave through a material
medium.
Sound travels as successive compressions and rarefactions
in the medium.
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In sound propagation, it is the energy of the sound that

travels and not the particles of the medium.
The change in density from one maximum value to the
minimum value and again to the maximum value makes
one complete oscillation.
The distance between two consecutive compressions or two
consecutive rarefactions is called the wavelength,
The time taken by the wave for one complete oscillation of
the density or pressure of the medium is called the time
period, T.
The number of complete oscillations per unit time is called
1
the frequency ( ), .
t
The speed , frequency and wavelength of sound are
related by the equation, = .
The speed of sound depends primarily on the nature and
the temperature of the transmitting medium.
The law of reflection of sound states that the directions in
which the sound is incident and reflected make equal angles
with the normal to the reflecting surface at the point of
incidence and the three lie in the same plane.
For hearing a distinct sound, the time interval between the
original sound and the reflected one must be at least 0.1 s.
The persistence of sound in an auditorium is the result of
repeated reflections of sound and is called reverberation.

102 SOUND
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t
1

=
T

.
( )

103
 Sound properties such as pitch, loudness and quality are
determined by the corresponding wave properties.
Loudness is a physiological response of the ear to the intensity
of sound.
The amount of sound energy passing each second through
unit area is called the intensity of sound.
The audible range of hearing for average human beings is in
the frequency range of 20 Hz – 20 kHz.
Sound waves with frequencies below the audible range are
termed “infrasonic” and those above the audible range are
termed “ultrasonic”.
Ultrasound has many medical and industrial applications.

Exercises
1. What is sound and how is it produced?
2. Describe with the help of a diagram, how compressions and
rarefactions are produced in air near a source of sound.
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3. Why is sound wave called a longitudinal wave?

4. Which characteristic of the sound helps you to identify your
friend by his voice while sitting with others in a dark room?
5. Flash and thunder are produced simultaneously. But
thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash is seen, why?
6. A person has a hearing range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. What
are the typical wavelengt hs of sound waves in air
corresponding to these two frequencies? Take the speed of
sound in air as 344 m s–1.
7. Two children are at opposite ends of an aluminium rod. One
strikes the end of the rod with a stone. Find the ratio of
times taken by the sound wave in air and in aluminium to
reach the second child.
8. The frequency of a source of sound is 100 Hz. How many
times does it vibrate in a minute?
9. Does sound follow the same laws of reflection as light does?
Explain.
10. When a sound is reflected from a distant object, an echo is
produced. Let the distance between the reflecting surface
and the source of sound production remains the same. Do
you hear echo sound on a hotter day?
11. Give two practical applications of reflection of sound waves.
12. A stone is dropped from the top of a tower 500 m high into a
pond of water at the base of the tower. When is the splash
heard at the top? Given, g = 10 m s–2 and speed of sound =
340 m s–1.
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g=
Hz
kHz

105
 13. A sound wave travels at a speed of 339 m s –1 . If its
wavelength is 1.5 cm, what is the frequency of the wave?
Will it be audible?
14. What is reverberation? How can it be reduced?
15. What is loudness of sound? What factors does it depend
on?
16. How is ultrasound used for cleaning?
17. Explain how defects in a metal block can be detected using
ultrasound.
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107
 Answers
Chapter 8
4. c
–2
5. 2 m s , 14000 N
6. – 4N
7. (a) 35000 N
–2
(b) 1.944 m s
8. 2550 N in a direction opposite to the motion of the vehicle
9. d
10. 200 N
–1
13. 3 kg m s
14. 2.25 m; 50 N
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–1 –1 –1
15. 10 kg m s ; 10 kg m s ; 5/3 m s
–1 –1
16. 500 kg m s ; 800 kg m s ; 50 N
–1
18. 40 kg m s
A2. 240 N
A3. 2500 N
–2 –1
A4. 5 m s ; 24000 kg m s ; 6000 N

Chapter 9

3. 9.8 N
12. Weight on earth is 98 N and on moon is 16.3 N.
13. Maximum height is 122.5 m and total time is 5 s + 5 s = 10 s.
14. 19.6 m/s
15. Maximum height = 80 m, Net displacement = 0, Total distance covered = 160 m.
16. Gravitational force = 3.56 1022 N.
17. 4 s, 80 m from the top.
18. Initial velocity = 29.4 m s–1, height = 44.1 m. After 4 s the ball will be at a
distance of 4.9 m from the top or 39.2 m from the bottom.
21. The substance will sink.
22. The packet will sink. The mass of water displaced is 350 g.

108 SOUND
 4. c
–2
5. 2 , 14000 N
6. – 4N
7. (a) 35000 N
–2
(b) 1.944
8. 2550 N
9. d
10. 200 N
–2
13. 3
14. 2.25 m; 50 N
–1 –2 –1
15. 10 ; 10 ; 5/3
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–1 –1
16. 500 ; 800 ; 50 N
–1
18. 40
A2. 240 N
A3. 2500 N
–2 –1
A4. 5 ; 24000 ; 6000 N

3. 9.8 N
12.
13. 122.5 is 5 +5 = 10 .
14. 19.6
15. = 80 = 0, = 160
16. = 3.56 1022 N.
17. 4 s, 80 .
18. = 29.4 , = 44.1 4 4.9
39.2
21. .
22. 350

109
 Chapter 10

2. Zero 2.
4. – 210 J 4. – 210 J

5. Zero 5.
9. 9 108 J 9. 9 108 J
10. 2000 J, 1000 J 10. 2000 J, 1000 J

11. Zero 11.

14. 5.4 7
J 14. 5.4 7
J

17. 208333.3 J 17. 208333.3 J

18. (i) Zero 18. (i)

(ii) Positive (ii)

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(iii) Negative (iii)

20. 7.2 7
J 20. 7.2 7
J

Chapter 11

7. 17.2 m, 0.0172 m 7. 17.2 0.0172

8. 18.55 8. 18.55
9. 6000 9. 6000
13. 11.47 s
13. 11.47
14. 22,600 Hz
14. 22,600 Hz

110 SOUND
 Class IX
Suggested Pedagogical Processes Learning Outcomes
The learners may be provided with The learner —
opportunities individually or in groups
and encouraged to —
y observe, group or classify materials, y differentiates materials, objects,
such as mixtures, based on their organisms, phenomena, and
properties, viz. solubility, passage processes, based on properties or
of light, etc., by performing various characteristics, such as, prokaryotes
activities. Based on the observations, and eukaryotes, plant cell and animal
a discussion may be facilitated to help cell, diffusion and osmosis, simple
arrive at the appropriate conclusions. and complex tissues, distance and
Students with visual impairment or displacement, speed and velocity,
low vision may be motivated to observe balanced and unbalanced forces,
solubility of the materials by touching elements, compound and mixture,
(caution should be taken while using solution, suspension and colloid,
the materials). isobars and isotopes, etc.
y design and carry out activities. For y classifies materials, objects,
example, ‘ Tug of war� to understand organisms, phenomena, and
balanced and unbalanced forces. They
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processes, based on properties or

may be encouraged to experiment by characteristics, such as, classification
applying forces (equal and unequal) of plants and animals under various
on an object in same and opposite hierarchical sub-groups, natural
directions, followed by peer group resources, classification of matter
discussion to generalise. based on their states (solid/liquid/gas)
y study the daily life experiences, and composition (element/compound/
using interdisciplinary approach mixture), etc.
such as the cause behind cooling of y plans and conducts investigations or
water in earthen pots. They may be experiments to arrive at and verify
encouraged to measure and compare the facts, principles, phenomena or
the temperatures of water both in to seek answers to queries on their
earthen pot and metal containers, own, such as, how does speed of an
thereby helping them to relate process object change? How do objects float/
of evaporation with cooling effect. sink when placed on the surface of a
Students with visual impairment or low liquid? Is there any change in mass
vision may be encouraged to feel the when chemical reaction takes place?
difference in temperature by touching What is the effect of heat on the state
the surface of the containers. of substances? What is the effect of
y conduct survey to understand the compression on different states of
process of spreading of diseases. They matter? Where are stomata present in
may be encouraged to collect data different types of leaves? Where are
from doctors and nurses about various growing tissues present in plants?
diseases. They can prepare a report on y relates processes and phenomena
spread, causes, prevention, and cure of with causes and effects, such as,
diseases. They may share their findings symptoms with diseases and causal
with the community through role plays, agents, tissues with their functions,
skits and also campaign for prevention. production with use of fertilisers,

111
Learning Outcomes at the Secondary Stage
 y present their observations/ ideas/ process of evaporation with cooling
learning through flow charts/ concept effect, various processes of separation
maps/ graphs and ICT tools. with the physical and chemical
y gather data for calculating different properties of the substances, production
physical quantities, such as distance, of sound with vibrations of source, etc.
displacement, velocity, which can be y explains processes and phenomena,
shared and discussed in groups or with such as, functions of different
peers. Rubrics can be used to assess organelles, spread of diseases and their
the conversion of units and reporting prevention, effect of force on the state of
results. motion of objects, action and reaction,
y collect and analyse wide variety of rotation and revolution of planets and
graphs from newspapers, magazines or satellites, conservation laws, principle
the internet. They may be encouraged to of separation of different gases from air,
draw, analyse and interpret the graphs melting, boiling, freezing, how bats use
(for example, distance-time, speed- ultrasonic waves to catch prey, etc.
time, or acceleration-time graphs of y calculates using the data given, such
motion of a vehicle on a straight road) as, distance, velocity, speed, frequency,
y write chemical formulae of simple work done, number of moles in a given
compounds, chemical equations, etc., mass of substance, concentration of
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using playway methods such as a game solution in terms of mass by mass

of cards. percentage of substances, conversion
y select and use appropriate devices of Celsius scale to Kelvin scale and
for measuring physical quantities. vice versa, number of neutrons in an
They may be encouraged to find the atom from atomic number and mass
minimum and maximum value that number, speed of sound, kinetic and
can be measured by an instrument and potential energies of an object, boiling
note down the readings correctly. points of liquids to predict the order of
their separation from the mixture, etc.
y collect information from books, e-books,
magazines, internet, etc., to appreciate y draws labelled diagrams, flow charts,
the efforts of scientists made over time, concept maps, graphs, such as,
for example, various models of atoms, biogeochemical cycles, cell organelles
discovery of microscope, etc., and and tissues, human ear, distance-time
showcase it in the form of a project or and speed-time graphs, distribution of
role play. electrons in different orbits in an atom,
process of distillation and sublimation,
y observe various technological devices
etc.
and innovative exhibits such as waste
management kits, water filtration y analyses and interprets graphs
system, using low-cost or no-cost eco- and figures such as, distance-time
friendly materials, develop them and and velocity-time graphs, computing
showcase it in science exhibitions, distance, speed, acceleration of objects
clubs and parent-teacher meets. in motion, properties of components of
a mixture to identify the appropriate
y share and discuss their beliefs and views
method of separation, crop yield after
regarding myths, taboos, superstitions,
use of fertilisers, etc.
etc., by initiating an open ended debate,

112
Learning Outcomes for Science
 leading to the alignment of their beliefs y uses scientific conventions, symbols,
to the scientifically proven facts. They and equations to represent various
may also be involved in awareness quantities, elements, and units,
campaigns in the community. such as, SI units, symbols of elements,
formulae of simple compounds,
chemical equations, etc.
y measures physical quantities using
appropriate apparatus, instruments,
and devices, such as, weight and mass
of an object using spring balance, mass
using a physical balance, time period
of a simple pendulum, volume of liquid
using measuring cylinder, temperature
using thermometer, etc.
y applies learning to hypothetical
situations, such as, weight of an object
at moon, weight of an object at equator
and poles, possibility of life on other
planets, etc.
y applies scientific concepts in daily
life and solving problems, such as,
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separation of mixtures, uses safety belts

in automobiles, covers walls of large
rooms with sound absorbent material,
follows intercropping and crop rotation,
takes preventive measures to control
disease causing agents, etc.
y derives formulae, equations,
and laws, such as, mathematical
expressions for Newton’s second
law of motion, law of conservation
of momentum, expression for force
of gravity, equations of motion from
velocity-time graphs, etc.
y draws conclusion, such as,
classification of life forms is related to
evolution, deficiency of nutrients affects
physiological processes in plants,
matter is made up of particles, elements
combine chemically in a fixed ratio to
form compounds, effect of action and
reaction on two different bodies, etc.
y describes scientific discoveries
and inventions, such as, discovery
of various atomic models, discovery
of cell with invention of microscope,
experiments of Lavoisier and Priestley,
beliefs regarding motion, discovery of
real cause for peptic ulcers, Archimedes
principle, classification of living
things, etc.

113
Learning Outcomes at the Secondary Stage
 y designs models using eco-friendly
resources, such as, 3D model of
a cell, water purification system,
stethoscope, etc.
y exhibits values of honesty,
objectivity, rational thinking,
freedom from myths, superstitious
beliefs while taking decisions,
respect for life, etc., such as, records
and reports experimental data exactly,
myth that sexually transmitted diseases
are spread by casual physical contact,
belief that vaccination is not important
for prevention of diseases, etc.
y communicates the findings and
conclusions effectively, such as, those
derived from experiments, activities,
and projects both in oral and written
form using appropriate figures, tables,
graphs, and digital forms, etc.
y applies the interdependency and
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interrelationship in the biotic and

abiotic factors of environment
to promote conservation of
environment, such as, organic
farming, waste management, etc.

114
Learning Outcomes for Science