PHY2048 recitation notes week 9

Ch 13 review:
1. Newtons law of gravitation: Two bodies attract each other through the gravitational force given
by
1 2
=
2
The gravitational interaction between spherical mass distributions is the same as if all the mass of
each distribution were concentrated at the center.
2. Weight and gravitational potential energy: The weight of a body at earths surface is given by

= =
2
The acceleration due to gravity at earths surface is
=

The gravitational potential energy is given by

=

Note that gravitational potential energy is never positive, and its zero when the bodies are
infinitely far apart.
3. Orbits: When a satellite moves in a circular orbit, the centripetal acceleration is provided by the
gravitational attraction of the earth. In a circular orbit, the speed is

The period is
=

2 3/2
= 2
=

4. Keplers three laws describe more general cases with an elliptical orbit.
(a) Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit, with the sun at one focus of the ellipse.
(b) A line from the sun to a given planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
(c) The period of the planets are proportional to the 3/2 powers of the major axis lengths of their
orbits.

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Examples:
1. Two uniform spheres, each of mass 0.260 kg, are fixed at points A and B, as shown in the
figure. Find the magnitude and direction of the initial acceleration of a uniform sphere with
mass 0.010 kg if released from rest at point P and acted on only by forces of gravitational
attraction of the spheres at A and B.

2. At what distance above the surface of the earth is the acceleration due to the earths gravity
0.490 m/s2 if the acceleration due to gravity at the surface has magnitude 9.80 m/s2?
3. NASA launched a satellite into a circular orbit 700 km above the earths surface. The earths
radius is 6380 km. (a) Find the speed of the satellite in orbit. (b) Find the period.
4. Deimos, a moon of Mars, is about 12 km in diameter with mass 2.01015 kg. Suppose you
play a one-person game of baseball. (a) With what speed would you have to throw a baseball
so that it would go into a circular orbit just above the surface and return to you so you could
hit it? (b) How long (in hours) after throwing the ball should you be ready to hit it?
5. Planet Vulcan. Suppose that a planet (Vulcan) were discovered between the sun and Mercury
and both Vulcan and Mercury are in elliptical orbits. If the major axis of Vulcans orbit equal
to 2/3 of the major axis of Mercurys orbit. The orbital period of Mercury is 88.0 days. What
would be the orbital period of planet Vulcan? (Use Keplers laws)
6. A thin, uniform rod has length L and mass M. A small uniform sphere of mass m is placed a
distance x from one end or the rod, along the axis of the rod.
(a) Calculate the gravitational potential energy of the rod-sphere system. Take the potential
energy to be zero when the rod and sphere are infinitely far apart.
(b) Use = / to find the magnitude and direction of the gravitational force exerted
on the sphere by the rod.

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