Honors Physics

Gravitation, little g and circular motion

09.2N

I. Whats up g? (or should we really say down)

1. Compute the local gravitational constant for the surface of the moon.
2. Compute the local gravitational constant for the surface of the earth. What is the accepted
value? Why does it deviate?

3. The factor g is the gravitational force per unit mass.

Newton/kilogram.

It is a vector with dimensions of

4. g has been measured and tabulated for a large number of locations near the earth. Such a
collection of the values of a physical quantity depending on position is called a field. In
particular, the gravitational force per unit gravitational mass at different locations on the earth
is called the gravitational field of the earth.
5. The changes in the gravitational field strength of the earth vary no more than by about 0.5
percent at the surface. The small changes relate to geographic latitude and altitude above sea
level. For a given altitude, the gravitational field is stronger at the poles. For a given
geographic latitude, the field is weaker at higher altitudes. The table below gives the magnitude
of the gravitational field at various locations.
Location
Earth's surface
1000 km above
surface
2000 km above
surface
3000 km above
surface
4000 km above
surface
5000 km above
surface
6000 km above
surface
7000 km above
surface
8000 km above
surface
9000 km above
surface
50000 km above
surface
Athens
Canal Zone
New York City
Los Angeles
Rome
Singapore
Tokyo

Distance
from Earth's center
(m)
6.38 x 106 m

Value of g
(m/s2) (N/kg)
9.8

7.38 x 10 m

7.33

8.38 x 106 m

5.68

9.38 x 106 m

4.53

1.04 x 106 m

3.70

1.14 x 106 m

3.08

1.24 x 106 m

2.60

1.34 x 106 m

2.23

1.44 x 107 m

1.93

1.54 x 107 m

1.69

5.64 x 107 m

0.13

9.800
9.782
9.802
9.796
9.803
9.781
9.798

Ex1: What is the change in the gravitational force acting on a 5.00-kg object if it is moved from
New York to the Canal Zone?

Honors Physics
Gravitation, little g and circular motion
09.2N

II. Round and Round we go again. How does centripetal force and acceleration come
into play?
1. How do we find the period of revolution of a satellite moving around the earth? (or any
central body)
a. For any motion in a circle, the magnitude of the acceleration is the centripetal acceleration.
Since the centripetal force is the gravitational attraction of the earth, the magnitude of the
acceleration must be equal to g, the gravitational field strength.

b. Satellite speed:

c. Distance covered in one revolution at constant speed:

d. Since the speed is constant

Therefore:

Ex2: Consider the Midas 2 satellite which was launched on May 24, 1960. It circles the earth
at an almost constant height of 4.90x10 5 m above the earths surface. At that location the
acceleration due to gravity is 8.45 m/s 2. What is the speed at which this satellite travels and
what is the period of Midas 2?

Ex3: The period of a landing module orbiting close to the surface of Mars is 102 minutes. How
does the magnitude of the gravitational field near the surface of Mars compare with that near
the surface of the earth? (Radius of Mars = 3.43x10 6m)

Ex4: The moon is a satellite orbiting the earth. Observations have been made about the moon.
It has a period of motion of about 27.3 days. Also, the distance between the earth and the moon
is roughly 3.80x108 m.
a. compute the moons acceleration toward the earth.

Honors Physics
Gravitation, little g and circular motion
09.2N

b. Compare the acceleration calculated above with the acceleration due to gravity at earths
surface. What does this indicate is true about the strength of gravitational attraction and the
distance between objects.

Ex5: Compare the acceleration of the moon toward the earth to the acceleration of the earth
toward the sun.

Ex6: A satellite circles the earth once every 95.0 minutes at a mean altitude of 500. km.
Calculate the mass of the earth. Note: The masses of the planets are actually calculated from
satellite motions, and one reason for establishing artificial earth satellites is to get a better
value for the mass of the earth.