Download Newton`s Universal Force of Gravity

Newton’s Universal Force of Gravity
Name: ________________
1. Determine the force of gravity between:
a. The Earth (m = 5.97x1024 kg) and the Moon (m = 7.35x1022 kg), which are 3.84x108 m apart
b. The Sun (m = 1.99x1030 kg) and the Moon, which are – on average – 1.496x1011 m apart
c. Does the Moon orbit the sun? Explain.
2. Many followers of pseudo-science believe that the position of the moon affects our daily lives. The
mass of the moon is 7.35x1022 kg and it orbits 3.78x108 m above Earth’s surface. (The radius of the
Earth is 6.37x106 m – this matters, use it!) Assume your mass is 60 kg.
a. What force does the moon exert on you when it is directly overhead?
b. What force does the moon exert on you when it is on the opposite side of the Earth?
3. The Hubble Space Telescope (11,110kg) orbits Earth 617 km above Earth's surface. The mass of the Earth is
5.972 x 1024 kg and the Earth's radius is 6.371 x 106 m. What is the period of the telescope's orbit (time to go
around once)?
4. Using the data from question 1a,
a. How fast is the moon traveling?
b. How long does it take for it to orbit once? (probably best to convert this into days)
5. Consider a 10 kg bowling ball…
a. What is the force exerted on the bowling ball when on the surface of Earth?
b. According to Newton’s 2nd Law, if the bowling ball were dropped here on Earth, how fast would
it accelerate?
c. What is the force exerted on the bowling ball when on the surface of the Moon? (the radius of
the moon is 1.74x106 m).
d. According to Newton’s 2nd Law, if the bowling ball were dropped on the moon, how fast would
it accelerate?
6. In 1952 Bertrand Russell Suggested that there is a teapot orbiting the sun in-between the orbits of
Earth and Mars. To this day no one can disprove this. If Russell’s teapot has a mass of 1.5kg and is
orbiting 189 million km (1.89*1011m) from the sun:
a. What is the force that exists between the sun and the teapot?
b. What velocity is the teapot traveling?
c. How long does it take the teapot to go around the sun once? (might want to put this into days
or years)
7. Each of five satellites makes a circular orbit about an object that is much more massive than any of the satellites.
The mass and orbital radius of each satellite orbit are given below. Which satellite has the greatest speed?
(A) ½m, R
(C) m, R
(E) 2m, R
(B) m, ½R
(D) m, 2R