Newton’s

Law of Gravitation
Essential Questions:
• How do the acceleration
About this Poster
and force due to gravity
depend on the radius and
mass of a planet? The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer is a NASA mission that is
observing the highest energy explosions in the Universe: gamma-ray
• How does the mass of a bursts (GRBs). Launched in November, 2004, Swift is detecting and
falling body affect the rate observing hundreds of these explosions, vastly increasing scientists’
at which it falls in a knowledge of these enigmatic events. Education and public outreach
gravita- tional field? (E/PO) is also one of the goals of the mission. The NASA E/PO Group
at Sonoma State University develops classroom activities inspired by the
science and technology of the Swift mis- sion, which are aligned with the
national Standards. The front of the poster illustrates Newton’s Law of
Objectives: Students will… Gravitation, and descriptions of the drawings can be found on the next
• see that the acceleration page. This poster and activity are part of a set of four educational
of an object due to gravity wallsheets which are aimed at grades 6-9, and which can be displayed as a
is independent of its mass. set or separately in the classroom.
• determine what they would The activity below provides a simple illustration of Newton’s Law of Gravita-
weigh on other planets. tion. The activity is complete and ready to use in your classroom; the
• see that the force they only extra materials you need are listed on p. 4. The activity is designed
feel from gravity depends and laid out so that you can easily make copies of the student
on the radius and the mass worksheet and the other handouts.
of the planet.
The NASA E/PO Group at Sonoma State University:

• Prof. Lynn Cominsky: Project Director

• Dr. Phil Plait: Education Resource Director
Science Concepts: • Sarah Silva: Program Manager
• Newton’s Law of • Tim Graves: Information Technology Consultant
Gravita- tion states that two • Aurore Simonnet: Scientific Illustrator
objects with masses m1 and • Laura Dilbeck: Project Assistant
m2, with a distance r
between their cen- ters, We gratefully acknowledge the advice and assistance of Dr. Kevin McLin,
attract each other with a the NASA Astrophysics division Educator Ambassador (EA) team,
force F given by: and the WestEd educator review panel. This poster set represents an
F = Gm1m2/r2 extensive revision of the materials created in 2000 by Dr. Laura
where G is the Universal Grav- Whitlock and Kara Granger for the Swift E/PO program.
itational Constant (equal to:
6.672 x 10-11Nm2/kg2). The Swift Education and Public Outreach website:
http://swifi.sonoma.edu.
• Objects near the surface This poster and other Swift educational materials can be found at:
of the Earth fall at the same http://swifi.sonoma.edu/education/
rate independent of their
masses. National Science Education Standards and Mathematics Standards for the
set of four Newton’s Law wallsheets can be found at:
• The force of gravity on http://swifi.sonoma.edu/education/newton/standards.html
dif- ferent planets is
different, depending on
their mass and radius.
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Description of the Front of the Poster:

Solar system: All the planets in the solar system orbit the Sun due to its gravity. The inner planets are closer to
the Sun and feel more gravity, so as a result they move faster.
Astronaut: Gravity goes on forever; an astronaut in orbit is accelerated by Earth’s gravity. But without the
balanc- ing upward force from the ground, she falls freely. Some people call this “weightlessness”, but that’s not
really true. “Free fall” is a better term.
Newton: Isaac Newton was the person who realized that all massive objects in the Universe apply the force of grav-
ity to all other massive objects. An apple didn’t really fall on his head, but he did realize that the force
causing an apple to fall is the same as the force causing the Moon to orbit the Earth – the Earth’s gravity.
Girl falling: While falling, a girl feels a brief period of “free fall” while she is in the air because the Earth’s
gravity is not balanced by any upwards force. The gravity due to the girl’s mass applies the same force on the
Earth as the Earth’s gravity does on the girl, but because the Earth has so much more mass it does not accelerate
very much at all, while the girl accelerates rapidly.
Bike: Bicyclists climbing a hill – or speeding down one – are certainly aware of gravity!
Swifi orbiting Earth: The effect of Swift’s horizontal velocity (from its launch rocket) exactly cancels the downward
velocity gained from the acceleration due to Earth’s gravity. This gives Swift its circular path around the Earth. See
“Newton’s law of Gravitation and the Swift Satellite” below.

Background Information for Teachers:

The derivation of Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Newton’s Laws of Motion and the Law of Gravitation. is beyond the scope of this activity. However,
if you want to see it, it can be found on the
It is well-known today that the force of gravity an object Swift site:
feels depends on a relatively simple relationship: http://swifi.sonoma.edu/education/newton/
GmM newton_4/derivation.html
F= 2
r
where F is the force of gravity, M is the mass of one object, m is the mass of a second object, r is the distance
between them, and G=6.672 x 10-11Nm2/kg2 is a constant called Newton’s Universal Gravitational Constant.

This relationship governs the motion of the planets in their orbits, guides spacecraft to their destinations, and even
keeps our feet firmly on the ground. Sir Isaac Newton derived this equation in the 17th century but it is still
useful today.

When you teach students science, they love to ask, “How does this affect me?” For once, you can answer this
hon- estly: this directly affects them. It affects everything! In fact, we can use Newton’s equation to figure out
just how
hard the Earth is pulling
GmM
us.
F= 2
Look again at the equation. r
We know that F = ma from Newton’s Second Law of Motion. We can set that equal to the equation above, and solve
for a, the acceleration due to Earth’s gravity:

a = G ME / RE2

where ME is the mass of the Earth and RE is its radius. We know the values of all these
numbers: G = 6.672 x 10-11 N m2/kg2
2
ME = 5.96 x 1024 kg
RE = 6375 km

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Substituting those into the equation above, we see that the acceleration due to gravity for any object on the
Earth’s surface (usually called g or “little g”) is 9.8 m/sec2. In other words, an object dropped near the Earth’s
surface will accelerate 9.8 m/sec for every second it falls: it will move at a velocity of 9.8 m/s after the
first second, 2 x 9.8m/sec = 19.6 m/sec the next, 3 x 9.8m/sec = 29.4 m/sec the next, and so on.

This equation has a very important implication: the mass of the object falling doesn’t matter! A grape and
a grand piano will both fall at the same acceleration, and therefore the same velocity (if they both drop
from the same height). This is counter-intuitive to most people, including, most likely, your students.
Our intu- ition tells us that more massive objects fall faster, but that is not correct.

Students may be confused by this because they know that more massive objects weigh more. While this is
true, it is important to distinguish between weight and mass. Mass is intrinsic to matter, but weight is
the force of gravity on that mass. Remember, F=ma. The acceleration due to gravity does not depend
on the mass of the object falling, but the force it feels, and thus the object’s weight, does.

This tells us two things. One is that the speed at which an object falls does not depend on its mass.
The second is that if the acceleration due to gravity were different (say, on another planet) you’d weigh a
different amount. These two concepts are the basis of the classroom activities.

Additional Background Information for Teachers:

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) established the scientific laws that govern 99% or more of our everyday expe-
riences. He also explained our relationship to the Universe through his Laws of Motion and his
Universal Law of Gravitation. These are considered by many to be the most important laws in all physical
science.

Newton was the first to see that such apparently diverse phenomena as an apple falling from a tree,
the Moon orbiting the Earth, and the planets orbiting the Sun operate by the same principle: force equals
mass multiplied by acceleration, or F=ma.

Our everyday lives are influenced by different forces: for example, the Earth exerts a force on us that we call
gravity. We feel the force required to lift an object from the floor to a table. But how exactly does
Newton’s Second Law of Motion relate to gravity? To understand Newton’s Law of Gravitation, you
must first under- stand the nature of force and acceleration when applied to circular motion, rather than
motion in a straight line.

Newton’s First Law of Motion tells us that, without the influence of an unbalanced force, an object
will travel in a straight line forever. This means that an object traveling in a circular path must be
influenced by an unbalanced force. The circulating object has a velocity that is constantly changing, not
because its speed is changing, but because its direction is changing. A change in either the magnitude
(amount) or the direc- tion of the velocity is called acceleration. Newton’s Second Law explains it this way:
A net force changes the velocity of an object by changing either its speed or its direction (or both.)

Therefore, an object moving in a circle is undergoing acceleration. The direction of the acceleration is toward
the center of the circle. The magnitude of the acceleration is a= v2/r, where v is the constant speed along
the circular path and r is the radius of the circular path. This acceleration is called centripetal (literally,
“center- seeking”) acceleration. The force needed to produce the centripetal acceleration is called the
centripetal force, Fcent = macent, according to Newton’s Second Law. So therefore the centripetal force
can be written as

Fcent = macent = mv2/r

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Majestic examples of circular motion can be found throughout our Universe: Planets orbit around the Sun in
nearly circular paths; moons orbit around their planets in nearly circular paths; and man-made satellites (such as
Swift) can orbit the Earth in nearly circular paths.

Pre-Activity Reading:
Newton’s Law of Gravitation and the Swifi Satellite

In our previous Newton’s Law posters, we examined what happened when Swift was launched in the rocket
and what happens as the rocket burns its fuel. We also studied the forces acting on Swift as it went into orbit. In
this final poster we will study the relationship between the gravitational force on Swift and its acceleration and
veloc- ity.

Recall that as Swift enters its orbit, it has velocity that is purely “horizontal” – that is, it is moving parallel to the
curved surface of the Earth at each point. However, the force of the Earth’s gravity on Swift is “vertical” – pointed
towards the center of the Earth. Why then does Swift not fall to Earth immediately? The answer is that
Swift moves horizontally at just the right rate so that as it falls vertically, its motion creates a circular path
around the Earth. This balance between “horizontal” and “vertical” motion is what is meant by “being in orbit.”
Swift will be able to stay in orbit for many years, as long as its horizontal velocity is maintained at a high
enough rate. The special relationship between the horizontal velocity and the gravitational acceleration for any
body that is orbit- ing another more massive body was worked out by Johannes Kepler years before Sir Isaac
Newton figured out the Law of Universal Gravitation.

Eventually, the cumulative effect of the small number of

Vhor atmo- spheric molecules hitting Swift in its orbit 600
km above Earth will cause the “horizontal” motion of
the satel-
lite to slow down; its horizontal motion will no
acen Vho
longer be able to completely counteract its
t r
verti- cal motion. When this happens, Swift’s
acen acen orbit will start to “decay.” As Swift spirals in
Vho t t closer to the Earth there will be even more
r atmospheric drag, which will cause Swift’s
orbit to decay increasingly faster. Swift will
end its life plung-
ing in through the Earth’s atmosphere, prob-
acent a cen ably sometime around 2014.
t
Vhor

The relationship between the velocity and accel-

acent eration of
Swifi in its
Vhor
orbit is shown Materials:
Vho
to the lefi and • Several objects of different
r
also on the Pont of masses and sizes, such as pencils,
the poster (not to scale). crumpled up aluminum foil,
coins, fishing weights, etc. Make
Procedure for In Class Activities: Newton’s Law of Gravitation sure they are not breakable!
In these two activities, your students will investigate Newton’s Law of • Calculator
Grav- itation. In the first activity, you can divide them into teams to
experimen- tally investigate the fact that the acceleration of an object due
to gravity is independent of its mass. In the second activity (for
advanced students),

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they can work individually or in pairs to calculate how their weight would change on other bodies in the
solar system, and to see that the force due to gravity, and hence their weight, depends on the radius and
mass of the planet.

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Part A: Зe Fall of Man

Your students will be dropping various objects to the floor to see if they fall Hint:
at different rates. Go over the background material to the level you think Students may get stuck on Ques-
is appropriate for your class, but do not go over the concept that tion 3, where they try to think
acceleration is independent of the mass of the falling object! They will of things that may have thrown
find this out for themselves in the first part of the activity. When you off their timing. The two largest
give them materials to test, make sure they have different sizes, masses, fac- tors in this are human
and densities. Make sure they are not breakable! Also, make sure they won’t reaction time and air resistance.
be affected too much by air resistance; a balloon or a piece of paper won’t If they get stuck, ask them to
drop a pencil and an unfolded
work (although crumpled paper will if it is wadded up tightly).
sheet of paper. Then have them
After this activity, discuss the results with the students. Most likely, repeat the experi- ment, but this
time with a pencil and a tightly
they will have predicted that the heavier object will hit first and found
wadded piece of paper. Ask
that this is not true; the two objects fell together at the same rate.
them why the wadded paper fell
Explain to them that this is because the acceleration due to gravity is faster, and they should see that
independent of mass. Some students may have a hard time internalizing air resistance slowed the paper
this. They may even dis- agree with the results. If that happens, the first time.
demonstrate the activity for them again from a higher elevation (standing
on a chair, for example), using very different mass objects (like a pencil
and a heavy weight).

Part B: Зe Gravity of the Situation (Advanced Students)

Before doing Part B, remind them of the difference between acceleration and force. Go over Newton’ s law
of gravitation, and stress the idea that the acceleration due to gravity on a planet’s surface depends on the planet’s
size and mass, and that this means that they would have different weights on different planets. Review the
derivation of “little g” that is given in the background information, and perhaps work one example for a
different planet, so that they will understand how to proceed. You may also wish to use the questions in the
box “Think About It!” as the basis for class discussion after the table is completed.

The students might be a little confused over the units for all these numbers (like G = 6.672 x 10-11 N m2/kg2).
This is understandable! If they get confused, tell them that to complete the activity they only need to worry
about the values of the numbers. The units are important when doing science, but for now they can just use
the numbers.

Extension Activity – Swift Orbit (Advanced students):

The following activity is beyond the normal scope of this poster, but may interest advanced students. It may
help to let them read the derivation of Newton’s Law of Gravitation at:
http://swifi.sonoma.edu/education/newton/newton_4/gravitation.html. You might have to explain the math to
them first.
a) Use Kepler’s Law: T2 = K R3 to calculate the period of the Swift satellite in its 600 km orbit around the
Earth. The period, T, is how long it takes for Swift to orbit once around the Earth. Remember that the distance, R,
in this equation is measured from the center of the Earth, and that the Earth’s radius is about 6375 km. The
constant K in this equation is equal to (4π2) / (GME), where ME is the mass of the Earth, and is equal to 5.96
x 1024 kg, and G is the gravitational constant: G = 6.67 x 10-11N m2/kg2.

b) What is Swift’s velocity in its orbit? Recall that v = 2πR/T.

c) If Swift’s weight in orbit is 1255 kg, (see “Think About It!” part “e” on p. 8) why then do we refer to astronauts
orbiting the Earth as “weightless”?

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 Answer for Extension Activity:
a) K = 9.931 x 10-14 s2 m-3
R = 6375 + 600 km = 6.975 x 106 m
Therefore, T = 5805 seconds or 96.7 minutes b) v = 7550 m/sec (about 25 times
the speed of sound)
c) Astronauts are not really weightless in orbit. In fact, they weigh at least 85% of their weight on Earth. The effect
that is usually called “weightlessness” is more correctly called “free fall.” The astronauts are falling towards the Earth
(moving “vertically”) at the same rate as their space vehicle travels “horizontally,” so they never actually fall to the Earth.
You can experience free fall without leaving the Earth – just try jumping off a diving board or into the air. You will feel
“weight- less” until you hit the surface of the pool or the ground.
Assessment:

Points Part A: The Fall of Man Part B: Gravity of the Situation

A) Student is able to predict the motion of A) Student is able to correctly calculate the accelerations for all
objects falling to the ground B) Student is able the solar system bodies listed in the table B) Student is able
to make repeatable measurements of falling to correctly calculate all the ratios of the accelerations with
4 objects C) Student is able to thoughtfully respect to that of Earth C) Student is able to thoughtfully
consider the initial predictions and revise them, consider the results of the calculations and provide correct
if incorrect D) Stu- dent is able to correctly answers about Mercury, Jupiter and the Moon D) Student is
conclude that mass has no effect on able to correctly describe the difference between mass and
acceleration weight
3 Student achieves the first three objectives above. Student achieves the first three objectives above.
Student achieves the first two objectives above or at least half of
2 Student achieves the first two objectives above.
the first two objectives and the third objective.
Student achieves only the first objective above or parts of the
1 Student achieves only the first objective above.
first two objectives
0 Student achieves none of the objectives above. Student achieves none of the objectives above.

Answers to In-Class Activity Questions:

Part A: The Fall of Man
1) Most students will predict the heavier object will hit first.
2) They should find that the objects hit at the same time.
3) This answer will depend on their prediction. Reasons the experiment might be thrown off could be that they
didn’t let go of the objects simultaneously, that the person viewing the impact didn’t see it clearly, or that air
resistance slowed one of the objects more than the other.
4) Many may change their prediction, saying both will hit simultaneously.
5) Most people are surprised that objects with very different masses will fall at the same rate.
Part B: The Gravity of the Situation
Acceleration Acceleration com-
Planet Name Mass (kg) Radius (m)
(m/sec2) pared to Earth
Mercury 3.3 x 1023 2.4 x 106 3.8 0.39
Venus 4.9 x 1024 6.1 x 106 8.9 0.90
Earth 6.0 x 1024 6.4 x 106 9.8 1.0
Moon 7.4 x 1022 1.7 x 106 1.7 0.17
Mars 6.4 x 1023 3.4 x 106 3.7 0.38
Jupiter 1.9 x 1027 7.1 x 107 23.1 2.4
Saturn 5.7 x 1026 6.0 x 107 9 0.92
Uranus 8.7 x 1025 2.6 x 107 9 0.91
Neptune 1.0 x 1026 2.5 x 107 11 1.1
Pluto 1.3 x 1022 1.2 x 106 0.60 0.062

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 Student Handout:
Newton’s Law of
Gravitation

You already know about gravity: it holds you down to the Earth. But there is more to
gravity than that! In this activity you will investigate a few properties of gravity and see how it
affects you – not just on Earth, but on other planets!
The goal of Part A is to determine the relationship between the acceleration due to gravity
and the mass of an object. The goals of Part B are to determine how much you would weigh
on other planets and how that weight is affected by the mass and radius of the planet.

Part A: The Fall of Man Count backwards from three, and on

“zero” drop the objects at the same time.
1) Your teacher has supplied you with a Did one hit first? If so, which one? Note
cold- lection of different objects. Look over what hap- pened on your worksheet.
them: are they all the same size, the same Repeat the pro- cedure at least twice more
weight? to make sure you get consistent results.
Pick two of the objects that have different
weights and sizes. They should be 3) Was your prediction accurate? Why
different enough that you can easily feel the or why not? Can you think of any ways
difference. If they are dropped from the same your experiment might have been
height, will one hit the floor first, or will thrown off ? Explain.
they hit at the same time? Make a prediction 4) Now find two objects that are roughly the
about this, and record it. same size, but very different weights. Repeat
2) Now take the objects and hold them in the experiment, and again record your
front of you. Make sure the bottoms of the pre- diction and the results.
objects are the same height from the floor. 5) Did the results surprise you? Why or why
Have another student kneel or lie down on not?
the floor in front of you so they have a
good view of where the objects will land.

Part B: The Gravity of the Situation (Advanced students):

Newton’s model of gravity is one of the most important scientific models in history. It applies
to apples falling from trees, baseballs soaring into the outfield, and milk being spilled in
your school cafeteria. The exact same model applies to other planets in our Solar System,
too!
Use the Solar System table given on p.8 to determine the value of g, the acceleration due to
grav- ity, for each of the other planets in the Solar System.
Use the equation for acceleration in the box and
the values for the masses and radii of the planets g = GM/R2
listed in the table. Complete the third column of the where M = mass, R = radius,
table with the value for the surface gravitational and G = 6.672 x 10-11 N m2/kg2

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acceleration for each planet (and the Moon).

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Part A: The Fall of Man - Answer the
following (use a separate sheet of paper if
necessary): 4. Observations of second experiment:

1. My predictions:

2. This is what I observed: 5. Were you surprised? Why or why not?

3. Accurate predictions?

Part B: The Gravity of the Situation - Complete the solar system data chart:

Acceleration Acceleration
Planet Name Mass (kg) Radius (m)
(m/ sec2) com- pared to
Earth
Mercury 3.3 x 1023 2.4 x 106
Venus 4.9 x 1024 6.1 x 106
Earth 6.0 x 1024 6.4 x 106 9.8 m/sec2 1
Moon 7.4 x 1022 1.7 x 106
Mars 6.4 x 1023 3.4 x 106
Jupiter 1.9 x 1027 7.1 x 107
Saturn 5.7 x 1026 6.0 x 107
Uranus 8.7 x 1025 2.6 x 107
Neptune 1.0 x 1026 2.5 x 107
Pluto 1.3 x 1022 1.2 x 106

Once you complete the third column, you can see how Think about it!
strong (or weak) gravity is on other planets. A better a. Would you weigh more or less on
way to understand this is to compare the gravity of the Mercury than you do on Earth?
planets with the Earth’s. So in the last column, divide the b. How about Jupiter?
gravity
c.How much would you weigh on the Moon?
you got for the other planets by the Earth’s gravity
d. What is the difference between mass and weight?
(for example, after you do this, you will get the Earth’s
grav- ity = 1, since you are dividing the number you e. If Swift weighs 1500 kilograms on the surface of
the Earth, how much does it weigh at an orbit of
got for Earth’s gravity by itself ).
8
600 km above the Earth’s surface?

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Answers to think About It!

a) You would weigh less on Mercury than on the Earth. (The “g” factor is 0.39 times that of Earth.)
b) You would weigh more on Jupiter than on the Earth. (The “g” factor is 2.4 times that of Earth.)
c) On the Moon, you would weigh 0.17 times your weight on Earth, or about 1/6 as much.
d) Mass is the amount of “stuff ” in an object, and weight is the result of the force of gravity acting on
that amount of stuff. When you go to a different planet, you look the same (mass) but your weight will
change, depending on the changes in the gravitational force.
e) The value of “g” in Swift’s orbit is 8.2 m/sec2 compared to 9.8 m/sec2 on the surface of the Earth. Swift
would therefore weigh 1500 kg x (8.2/9.8) = 1255 kg in orbit.