All Flashcards
What is the difference between mass and weight?
Mass: Amount of matter in an object. Weight: Gravitational force acting on an object.
What is the difference between gravitational force and gravitational field?
Gravitational Force: The force of attraction between two masses. Gravitational Field: A region of space where a mass experiences a gravitational force.
Compare the effect of distance on gravitational force vs. gravitational field strength.
Both decrease with the square of the distance, following an inverse-square law.
What is the difference between and ?
: Universal gravitational constant. : Gravitational field strength (acceleration due to gravity).
Compare gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy in the context of orbital motion.
Gravitational potential energy: Energy due to position in a gravitational field. Kinetic energy: Energy due to motion. In orbit, these energies are constantly interchanging.
Compare Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation and the Gravitational Field Equation.
Newton's Law: F = G rac{m_1 m_2}{r^2}, calculates the force between two masses. Field Equation: g = G rac{M}{r^2}, calculates the gravitational field strength due to a single mass.
What is the effect of increasing the mass of a planet on its gravitational field?
Increases the gravitational field strength.
What is the effect of doubling the distance from a planet's center on gravitational field strength?
The gravitational field strength is quartered (decreases by a factor of 4).
What happens when the only force acting on an object is gravity?
The object is in free fall and accelerates at (near Earth's surface).
What is the effect of gravitational force on a satellite?
It provides the centripetal force required for the satellite to orbit the planet.
What happens when an object falls in a gravitational field?
It accelerates towards the center of the mass creating the field.
What is the effect of increasing the mass of a planet on the gravitational field strength at its surface?
It increases the gravitational field strength.
What is the effect of doubling the distance from the center of a planet on the gravitational field strength?
It quarters the gravitational field strength.
What causes objects to accelerate downwards in free fall?
The gravitational force.
What is the effect of gravitational force on a satellite orbiting a planet?
It provides the centripetal force needed for the satellite to stay in orbit.
What happens to the gravitational force if one of the masses is doubled?
The gravitational force doubles.
What is the effect of increasing the orbital radius of a satellite on its orbital speed?
It decreases the orbital speed.