SCIENCE Gravitation Class IX
1) Distinguish between gravitation and gravity
Gravitation: It is the force of attraction between any Gravity: Gravity is the attraction between the
two bodies in the universe which attracts every body earth and any object lying on or near its surface.
known as ‘force of gravitation.’ Ex. The attraction Ex. A body thrown up falls back on the surface of
between earth and satellite revolving around it. the earth due to earth’s force of gravity.
2) What is centripetal force? From where does the moon get the centripetal force
required for its motion around the earth?
When the body moves along a path with uniform speed its direction of motion changes along with velocity
and acceleration. The force that provides this acceleration and keeps the body moving along the circular
path is centripetal force.
The moon needs a centripetal force for circular motion around the earth which is provided by the
gravitational attraction exerted by the earth on the moon.
3) State Kepler’s law of planetary motion.
a) Law of Orbit: Each planet revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit with the sun S situated at one of
the two foci.
b) Law of Areas: The line joining the planet and the sun sweeps equal areas in equal intervals of time.
Thus, if the time of travel from A to B is same as that from C to D, then the shaded areas SAB and SCD
are equal.
c) Law of periods: The cube of the mean distance ‘r’ of a plant from the sun is proportional to the square
of its orbital period T.
or T2 α r3 or T2 / r3 = constant
4) State Newton’s Law of gravitation.
This law states that every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force proportional to
the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The value of G is 6.673 x 10-11 Nm2 kg-2
5) Why is G called ‘a universal gravitational constant’?
The value of constant G is same for any pair of objects in the universe. Also, its value does not depend
on the nature of the intervening medium. That is why constant G is called ‘universal gravitational
constant’.
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6) If the force of gravity somehow vanishes today, why would we be sent flying in
space?
In the absence of force of gravity, the centripetal force required to keep us rotating along with the
earth would not be available. We would then fly off along the tangent to the earth into the space.
7) If the moon attracts the earth why does the Earth not move towards the moon?
According to Newton’s third law of motion the moon also attracts Earth with a force equal to that
which the earth attracts the moon, since Earth’s mass if much larger than the moon the acceleration
produced is not noticeable.
8) State the importance of the universal law of gravitation?
The force that binds us to the Earth. The motion of planets around the Sun.
The motion of the moon around the Earth. The tides due to the moon and the Sun.
9) Explain the term free fall and give example.
The motion of a body under the influence of force of gravity alone is called a ‘free fall’. If we neglect the
resistance or friction offered by air the fall of a body in air is a free fall. In fact, a body falls freely only in
vacuum. The motion of a small-heavy body in air, maybe taken as a free fall as the resistance of air on it
is very small.
10) Why will a sheet of paper fall slower than one that is crumpled into a ball?
The sheet of paper will experience a larger air resistance due to its larger surface area than that of its ball
form. Hence, the sheet falls slower than its ball form.
11) Define acceleration due to gravity and state the expression.
The acceleration produced in the motion of a body falling under the force of gravity is called
acceleration due to gravity. It is denoted by ‘g’
12) Differentiate between ‘g’ and ‘G’ in tabular form
Acceleration due to gravity ‘g’ Universal gravitational constant ‘G’
It is the acceleration acquired by a body due to It is equal to force of attraction between two
earth’s gravitational pull on it. masses of 1kg each separated by distance of 1m
‘g’ is not a universal constant. It is different at ‘G’ is a universal constant i.e. its value is same as
different places on the surface of the earth. its 6.673 x 10-11 Nm2 kg-2 everywhere in the universe.
value varies from one celestial body to another.
It is a vector quantity. It is a scalar quantity.
13) Define mass of body. What is its SI unit? Is it a scalar or vector quantity?
The mass of a body represents the quantity of matter contained in the body. It gives a measure of
inertia of the body. Greater the mass of a body, greater the inertia. The SI unit of mass is kilogram (kg).
The mass of a body has only magnitude and no direction. Therefore, mass is a scalar quantity.
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14) Is mass of an object a constant quantity? How does the mass of a body change
when it is taken into deep space?
Yes. An object contains same quantity of matter whether the object is on the earth, the
moon or even in outer space. Thus, the mass of an object is constant and does not change
from place to place.
15) Define weight of a body. In which direction does it act? Write expression for it.
The weight of a body is the force with which it is attracted towards the center of the earth.
When a body falls towards the Earth, the gravitational force of the earth produces an
acceleration ‘g’ in motion of the body. As per Newton’s Second Law of Motion the force
of acceleration on the mass ‘m’ will be,
F = Mass x Acceleration due to gravity = m.g.
As the value of g varies from place to place, the weight of a body varies from place to
place. It acts vertically downwards towards the center of the earth. It is a vector quantity.
16) Can a body have mass but no weight? Give reason for you answer.
Yes. Mass of a body is never zero. When it is taken to the center of the Earth its weight
becomes zero because g=0 at the center of the earth.
17) Is value of g same at all places on the earth? Give Reason for your answer.
No, the value of g is maximum at the poles and minimum at the equator. These variations
are due to the oblong shape of the earth and its rotation about its own axis.
18) Why is the weight of an object on the moon 1/6th its weight on the earth?
The mass of the moon is less than that of the Earth, due to this the moon exerts lesser
force of attraction on objects.
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛 1
=
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ 6
19) A stone is released from the top of a tower of height 19.6 m. Calculate its velocity
just before touching the ground.
Height of the tower = 19.6m
Initial Velocity = 0 m/s
Final Velocity = ?
Acceleration due to gravity (g) = 9.8 m/s2
v2 = u2 + 2.g.h
v2 = 0 + (2) x (9.8) x (19.6)
v2 = 19.6 x 19.6
v = 19.6 m/s
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20) Find the weight of 80kg man on the surface of the moon? What should be his
mass on the earth and on the moon? (ge= 9.8m/s2, gm= 1.63 m/s2)
Mass of the man = 80kg
Wm = m x gm
= 80 x 1.63 N
= 130.40 N
Mass of man on earth and on the surface of moon will be 80 kg
21) A ball is dropped from the roof of a building. It takes 10 seconds to reach the
ground. Find the height of the building.
H = ut + ½ .g .t2
= 0 x 10 + ½ x 9.8 x 102
= 490 m
22) Calculate the force of gravitation between two objects of mass 50kg and 120 kg
kept at a distance of 10m from one another. G = 6.673 x 10-11 Nm2 kg-2
𝑚1 𝑥 𝑚2
F=G
𝑑2
50 𝑥 120
F = 6.673 x 10-11 x
100
F = 4.02 x 10-9 N
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