Gravitation
This chapter discusses gravitation and the Universal Law of Gravitation. The motion of
objects under the influence of gravitational force on Earth is also examined closely. Students
will also understand how weight varies from place to place and the conditions required for
objects to float on water.
What Is Gravitation?
Gravitation or just gravity is the force of attraction between any two bodies. All the objects in
the universe attract each other with a certain amount of force, but in most cases, the force is
too weak to be observed due to the very large distance of separation. Besides, gravity’s
range is infinite but the effect becomes weaker as objects move away.
Some examples of gravity are:
● The force that causes the ball to come down is known as gravity
● Gravity keeps the planets in orbit around the sun.
● Gravity is the force that causes a rock to roll downhill.
The Universal Law of Gravitation
Newton’s Law of gravitation states that every object in the universe attracts every other
object by a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.
𝐺𝑚1𝑚1
F= 2
𝑑
The force of gravity is calculated using Universal Law of Gravitation given by Newton as,
Where m = mass of the body
M = mass of earth
r = distance of the body from the centre of Earth
F = force of gravity exerted by Earth on the body
where G is the universal gravitation constant.
Value of G = 6.673*10-11Nm2Kg-2
Gravitation and Gravity
Gravitation is the force of attraction between any two bodies whereas gravity is the force of
attraction between two bodies when one of the two bodies is earth. Hence gravity is a
special case of gravitation.
Force of gravity
Earth attracts all objects. The direction of this force is towards the centre of the Earth. This
force of attraction is the force of gravity
ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY:
When a body is dropped from a certain height, it falls with a constant acceleration.
This uniform acceleration produced in a freely falling body due to the gravitational
pull of the earth is known as acceleration due to gravity and it is denoted by the letter ‘g’.
Although g varies very slightly from place to place but its average value is taken to be
2
9.8 m/s .
VALUE OF g ON EARTH:
To calculator the value of g, we should put the values of G = 6.7 x 10-11 Nm2/kg2;
mass of the earth M = 6 x 1024 kg and radius of the earth (R) = 6.4 x 106 m, in the formula :
= 9.8 m/s2
Thus, value of acceleration due to gravity of the earth, g = 9.8 m/s2
VALUE OF g ON MOON:
Mass of moon = 7.4 x 1022 kg
Radius of moon = 1,740 km
= 1,740,000 m = 1.74 x 106 m
ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY (g) DOES NOT DEPEND UPON
MASS OF THE BODY:
The relation between g and G is
Where, G = gravitational constant,
M = mass of Earth, and
R = radius of Earth.
We observe from this relation that value of g depends on mass of Earth and radius of
Earth. Mass of the body (m) is nowhere involved in this relation. It means that the value of
acceleration due to gravity does not depend upon mass of the body. Hence, all bodies when
free will falls towards the centre of earth with the same acceleration – whatever be their
masses. It means that a big stone and a small stone when dropped from a particular height
will move with the same acceleration due to gravity. Both will strike the ground at the same
time whenever they fall under gravitational pull alone (vacuum).
VARIATION IN ACCELERATION DUE TO GRAVITY (g):
The relation between g and G is
It shows that value of g depends on gravitational constant G, mass of Earth M and
radius of the Earth R. Now, G and M both are constants. But radius of earth R is not constant
as Earth is not a perfect sphere. Therefore, value of g changes from place to place on the
surface of earth. These changes are briefly discussed here.
(a) Effect of shape of Earth on 'g'
As is known, Earth is flattened at the poles and bulged out at the equator. Therefore,
polar radius of Earth = Rp is minimum, and equatorial radius of Earth = Rp is maximum.
Acceleration due to gravity at poles, = maximum, as Rp is minimum
Acceleration due to gravity at equator, = minimum, as Re is maximum
(b) Effect of height above the surface of Earth on 'g'
As we move above the surface of the Earth, the distance (r) from the centre of earth
increases. As , therefore, value of acceleration due to gravity decreases with
height above the surface of Earth.
(c) Effect of depth below the surface of Earth on 'g'
Most of you might be thinking that as we go down the surface of Earth, the value of
radius of Earth R decreases. Therefore, g must be increasing. But it is not true. You will learn
in higher classes that the value of acceleration due to gravity decreases as we go down
inside the Earth. So much so that at the centre of Earth, g = 0.
Hence, we conclude that value of acceleration due to gravity is maximum at the
surface of Earth. It decreases as we move above the surface of Earth or go inside the
surface of Earth.
Free Fall and Weightlessness
If an object is allowed to fall freely from a height, it will fall to the ground only under the
gravitational force of the Earth. Such a motion is called free fall
When the bodies are falling under influence of gravity, they experience acceleration g
–2
i.e., 9.8 ms . However, when these are going up against gravity, they move with retardation
–2
of 9.8 ms . All the equations of motion already read by us are valid for freely falling body
with the difference that a is replaced by g. For motions vertically upwards a is replaced by
–g.
Mass and Weight
Weight is a force. The weight of the object on the Earth is the gravitational force exerted by
the Earth on that object. When an object is on the Moon or other celestial bodies, the weight
of the object at that place is the force exerted by those bodies on the object. If the mass of
an object is m, then its weight will be mg. Weight is measured using devices such as spring
balance, platform balance, etc. The unit of weight is newton (N)
Another unit of weight is kilogram weight (kgwt).
1 kilogram weight (1 kgwt) One kilogram weight (1kgwt) is the force of attraction exerted
by the Earth on an object of mass one kilogram. F = ma = mg 1 kgwt = 1 kg × 9.8 m/s2 = 9.8
kgm/s2 = 9.8 N ie., 1 kgwt = 9.8 N.
The difference between mass and weight of the rigid body is given as below –
Circular Motion
The rate of change of velocity is acceleration. Acceleration of an object moving along a
circular path is centripetal acceleration. The force required for this acceleration is centripetal
force
It is due to the centripetal force that vehicles negotiating curves on a road tend to skid or roll
off the curve. Mass and speed of the vehicle and curvature of the road are the factors that
influence the tendency of the vehicle to roll over.
Wouldn't satellites require a lot of energy to overcome Earth's gravity and enter the outer
space? Hence large rockets are used to launch satellites. This increases Gravitation Gravitat
85 ion 5 the expense of the mission. The technological advancements used for the launch of
Chandrayaan helped it to land on the Moon using less powerful rockets than the lunar
missions of other nations. The speed of the lander will increase on reaching the Moon due to
the Moon's gravity. Soft landing was done by gradually reducing this increased
speed
