Unit 7 Practice & Answers
Unit 7 Practice & Answers
Directions: Show the steps required to arrive at the answer. Work out the problems on separate page.
7.1 – Gravity
1. An object is moved from the Earth's surface to a distance of five radii from the Earth's center? What is weight
the object after the object is moved?
Weight is reduced by a factor of 25
2. Tatooine has 4.0 times the mass of Earth and a radius half that of Earth. How many times larger is the
acceleration of gravity on Tatooine than it is on Earth?
3. Jakku has half the density of earth and 1/3 the radius. What is the ratio of the acceleration due on gravity on
𝑽
Jakku to that of Earth’s? (HINT: 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 𝝆 = 𝒎
Multiplied by 1/6
4. Two equal masses, m, are placed some distance, r, apart. In terms of the original force of gravity Fg between
the two masses, describe how the gravitational force will change if:
A) One mass is doubled Doubles
B) Both masses are doubled. x4
C) The distance between the masses is reduced by half x4
D) The distance between the masses is increased by a factor of three x1/9
E) One mass is doubled, one mass is tripled, and the distance is increased by a factor of two. x3/2
5. A rocket blasts away from the earth with a cargo for the international space station. Sketch the graph of the
force of gravity the rocket experiences from the earth as a function of time.
6. In both cases shown at right, an astronaut is a distance x from a moon. The
two cases are identical except that in Case A there is a large planet directly
between the astronaut and the moon.
7. At the instant shown, three asteroids are in a line, and the distance between A and B is the same as the
distance between B and C. Asteroids B and C have the same mass, while asteroid A has twice the mass.
Rank the magnitude of the net force on each asteroid due to the other two asteroids. Explain your reasoning.
The greatest attraction is between A and B (since A is the most massive and closest to B), then between B
and C (since they are closer together, but neither is as massive as A). The weakest attraction is between A
and C due to their distance apart.
8. Three objects with a mass of M exert gravitation forces on each other. What is the direction of
the net force on mass B? Explain your reasoning.
Down (due to C) and the to the left (due to A).
9. a) Describe a method to determine the inertial mass of your physics textbook. Include any materials and
measurements.
Apply a known force to the book and measure the acceleration. Pull with a force probe at constant speed,
etc.
b) Describe a method to determine the gravitational mass of your physics textbook. Include any materials and
measurements.
Weigh on a scale to find weight. Divide force of weight by 9.8 m/s2.
10. The Sojourner rover vehicle was used to explore the surface of Mars as part of the
Pathfinder mission in 1997. The Sojourner rover has a mass of 11.5 kg. Mars has 0.53x
Earth’s radius and 0.11 Earth’s mass.
a) Determine the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of Mars in terms of g,
the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of Earth.
b) Calculate Sojourner's weight on the surface of Mars.
c) Assume that when leaving the Pathfinder spacecraft Sojourner rolls down a ramp inclined at 20° to
the horizontal. The ramp must be lightweight but strong enough to support Sojourner. Calculate the
minimum normal force that must be supplied by the ramp
d) Suppose Sojourner is to go up the ramp with an acceleration of 1.0 m/s2. Calculate the minimum
forward force the motor must provide in order to do this. Coefficient of friction is 0.20.
𝒓
𝟐𝝅𝒓√𝑮𝒎
𝑻𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝟏 𝟏
= = =
𝑻𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒓 𝟏 √𝟐
𝟐𝝅𝒓√ 𝟏
√𝟏/𝟐
𝑮 𝟐 𝒎𝒔𝒖𝒏
𝑻𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒕 = √𝟐𝑻𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉
2. Titan is a moon that orbits Saturn (mass = 5.68 𝑥 1026 kg) at a distance of 1.23𝑥106 km.
a) Calculate the orbital speed of Titan around Saturn.
b) How long does it take Titan to orbit Saturn in days?
3. Consider Earth to be stationary, and the Moon as orbiting Earth in a circle of radius 𝑅. If the masses of Earth
and the moon are 𝑀𝐸 and 𝑀𝑀 , determine an expression for the total mechanical energy of the Earth-Moon
system?
𝑮𝑴𝑬 𝑴𝑬
𝑬=−
𝟐𝑹
4. A projectile is launched from the surface of a planet (mass = M, radius = R). What minimum launch speed is
required if the projectile is to rise to a height of 2R above the surface of the planet?
The rocket starts at the ground with negative potential and positive kinetic. The rocket reaches a max height
with negative potential, and zero kinetic (since speed at max height is momentarily zero).
𝑈𝑖 + 𝐾𝑖 = 𝑈𝑓 + 𝐾𝑓
−𝐺𝑀𝑚 1 −𝐺𝑀𝑚
+ 𝑚𝑣 2 = +0
𝑅 2 3𝑅
1 2 2𝐺𝑀
𝑣 =
2 3𝑅
4𝐺𝑀
𝑣=√
3𝑅
5. Three spheres, with masses indicate, are initially far away from each other, and the
gravitational system of the system is zero. The spheres are then brought together until each
sphere is a distance r from the other two. What is the new gravitational potential energy of the
three-sphere system?
Add the U of all 3 mass pairs.
𝐺(2𝑚)(𝑚) 𝐺(𝑚)(𝑚) 𝐺(𝑚)(2𝑚) 𝟓𝑮𝒎𝟐
𝑈=− − − =−
𝑟 𝑟 𝑟 𝒓
7. Hoth has a mass of 5.1x1024 kg and orbits a star of mass 1.7x1030 kg at an average distance of 1.6x108 km.
a) Calculate the average orbital speed of Hoth.
b) Calculate the orbital period of Hoth in Earth days.