GRAVITATION

QUESTIONS FROM BOOK

1. State the universal law of gravitation.
2. Write the formula to find the magnitude of the gravitational force between the earth and an object on
the surface of the earth.
Example 10.1 The mass of the earth is 6 × 10 24 kg and that of the moon is 7.4 x 10 22 kg. If the distance
between the earth and the moon is 3.84 X 10 5 km, calculate the force exerted by the earth on the moon. G
= 6.7 X 10–11 Nm2 kg-2.
Example 10.2 A car falls off a ledge and drops to the ground in 0.5 s. Let g = 10 m s –2 (for simplifying
the calculations).
(i) What is its speed on striking the ground?
(ii) What is its average speed during the 0.5 s?
(iii) How high is the ledge from the ground?
Example 10.3 An object is thrown vertically upwards and rises to a height of 10 m. Calculate
(i) the velocity with which the object was thrown upwards and
(ii) the time taken by the object to reach the highest point.
QUESTIONS FROM BOOK:
1. What do you mean by free fall?
2. What do you mean by acceleration due to gravity?
Example 10.4 Mass of an object is 10 kg. What is its weight on the earth?
Example 10.5 An object weighs 10 N when measured on the surface of the earth. What would be its
weight when measured on the surface of the moon?
QUESTIONS FROM BOOK:
1. What are the differences between the mass of an object and its weight?
1
2. Why is the weight of an object on the moon th its weight on the earth?
6
Example 10.6 A block of wood is kept on a tabletop. The mass of wooden block is 5 kg and its
dimensions are 40 cm × 20 cm × 10 cm. Find the pressure exerted by the wooden block on the table top if
it is made to lie on the table top with its sides of dimensions
(a) 20 cm × 10 cm and
(b) 40 cm × 20 cm.

QUESTIONS FROM BOOK:

1. Why is it difficult to hold a school bag having a strap made of a thin and strong string?
2. What do you mean by buoyancy?
3. Why does an object float or sink when placed on the surface of water?

QUESTIONS FROM BOOK:

1. You find your mass to be 42 kg on a weighing machine. Is your mass more or less than 42 kg?
2. You have a bag of cotton and an iron bar, each indicating a mass of 100 kg when measured on a
weighing machine. In reality, one is heavier than other. Can you say which one is heavier and why?
Gravitation class IX by Harsha Sir Page 1
Excluded:
Example 10.7 Relative density of silver is 10.8. The density of water is 103 kg m–3. What is the density
of silver in SI unit?

NCERT BOOK EXERCISE

1. How does the force of gravitation between two objects change when the distance between them is
reduced to half ?
2. Gravitational force acts on all objects in proportion to their masses. Why then, a heavy object does not
fall faster than a light object?
3. What is the magnitude of the gravitational force between the earth and a 1 kg object on its surface?
(Mass of the earth is 6 × 1024 kg and radius of the earth is 6.4 × 106 m.)
4. The earth and the moon are attracted to each other by gravitational force. Does the earth attract the
moon with a force that is greater or smaller or the same as the force with which the moon attracts the
earth? Why?
5. If the moon attracts the earth, why does the earth not move towards the moon?
6. What happens to the force between two objects, if
(i) the mass of one object is doubled?
(ii) the distance between the objects is doubled and tripled?
(iii) the masses of both objects are doubled?
7. What is the importance of universal law of gravitation?
8. What is the acceleration of free fall?
9. What do we call the gravitational force between the earth and an object?
10. Amit buys few grams of gold at the poles as per the instruction of one of his friends. He hands over
the same when he meets him at the equator. Will the friend agree with the weight of gold bought? If
not, why? [Hint: The value of g is greater at the poles than at the equator.]
11. Why will a sheet of paper fall slower than one that is crumpled into a ball?
1
12. Gravitational force on the surface of the moon is only as strong as gravitational force on the earth.
6
What is the weight in newtons of a 10 kg object on the moon and on the earth?
13. A ball is thrown vertically upwards with a velocity of 49 m/s. Calculate
(i) the maximum height to which it rises,
(ii) the total time it takes to return to the surface of the earth.
14. A stone is released from the top of a tower of height 19.6 m. Calculate its final velocity just before
touching the ground.
15. A stone is thrown vertically upward with an initial velocity of 40 m/s. Taking g = 10 m/s2, find the
maximum height reached by the stone. What is the net displacement and the total distance covered by
the stone?
16. Calculate the force of gravitation between the earth and the Sun, given that the mass of the earth = 6
×
1024 kg and of the Sun = 2 × 1030 kg. The average distance between the two is 1.5 × 1011 m.
17. A stone is allowed to fall from the top of a tower 100 m high and at the same time another stone is
projected vertically upwards from the ground with a velocity of 25 m/s. Calculate when and where the
two stones will meet.
18. A ball thrown up vertically returns to the thrower after 6 s. Find
(a) the velocity with which it was thrown up,
(b) the maximum height it reaches, and
Gravitation class IX by Harsha Sir Page 2
 (c) its position after 4 s.
19. In what direction does the buoyant force on an object immersed in a liquid act?
20. Why does a block of plastic released under water come up to the surface of water?
21. The volume of 50 g of a substance is 20 cm3. If the density of water is 1 g cm–3, will the substance
float or sink?
22. The volume of a 500 g sealed packet is 350 cm3 . Will the packet float or sink in water if the density
of water is 1 g cm–3? What will be the mass of the water displaced by this packet?

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. A body of mass 1kg is attracted by the earth with a force which is equal to
a. 9.8N b. 6.67x 10 11 c. 1 N d. 9.8m/s
2. What is the gravitational force between two objects?
a. attractive at large distances only b. attractive at small distances only
c. attractive at all distances d. attractive at large distances but repulsive at small distances
3. The value of ‘g’
a. Increases as we go above the earth’s surface b. Decreases as we go to the centre of the earth
c. Remains constant d. Is more at equator and less at poles
4. The ball is thrown up, the value of ‘g’ will be
a. Zero b. positive c. negative d. negligible
5. The gravitational force causes
a. Tides b. Motion of moon c. None of them d. Both a n b
6. The mass of the body on moon is 40kg, what is the weight on the earth.
a. 240kg b. 392N c. 240N d. 400kg
7. Newton’s law of gravitation applies to
a. Small bodies only b. Plants only c. All bodies irrespective of their size d. For solar
system
8. The gravitational force between two objects is F. If masses of both the objects are halved
without altering the distance between them, then the gravitational force would become
a. f/4 b. f/2 c. f d. 2f
9. The Earth attracts the moon with a gravitational force of 1020N. The moon attracts the earth
with a gravitational force of
a. Less than 10 20 N b. 10 20 N c. Greater than 10 20 N d. 10 -20 N
10. The distance between two bodies becomes 6 times more than the usual distance. The the F
becomes
a. 36 times b. 6 times c. 12 times d. 1/36 times

SAMPLE PAPER QUESTIONS

1. Which force is responsible for stability of our universe?
2. Which force is required to maintain a body in uniform circular motion?
3. What is gravity?
4. How is the weight of an object related to its mass?
5. Mass of boy on earth is 40kg, what is the mass on the moon?
6. What is the effect of shape of earth on value of ‘g’?
7. Why do we feel uneasy when ferry wheels moves downwards?
8. Derive formula of universal law of gravitation.
9. The acceleration of a freely falling body does not depend on the mass of the body. Prove this.
10. Establish relationship between ‘g’ and ‘G’.
11. Show that the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of moon is about 1/6 of that at the
surface of the earth.
12. What is centripetal force? Define it with example.
13. With what force will body of mass 1kg get attracted to the earth?
Gravitation class IX by Harsha Sir Page 3
14. Calculate the value ‘g’, acceleration due to gravity.

TEST
1. Give the S.I. unit of G and its value. 1
GM
2. g = 2 , what does these symbols denote?
R
1
3. When a ball is let free fall from the top of building. What is the acceleration and what its
sign?
1
4. A ball is projected vertically upwards with an initial velocity ‘u goes to a maximum height ‘h’
before touching the ground. What is the value of ‘h’ ? 2
5. How is the weight of an object related to its mass?
2
6. The mass of the body on earth is 60kg, what is its weight on the earth and on moon.
2
7. The mass of earth is 6x10 24 kg and that of the moon is 7.4 x 10 22 kg. If the distance between
the earth and the moon is 3.84x10 5 km. Calculate the force exerted by the earth and the
moon. G = 6.67 x10 -11 Nm 2 kg -2 2
8. Calculate the value of ‘g’ acceleration due to gravity. 1
9. Give difference between ‘g’ and ‘G’. 2
10. If ball is thrown up in the sky, what will happen to its value of ‘g’? 1
11. Derive the formula for the universal law of gravitation. 2
12. A car falls of a ledge and drops to the ground in 0.5 s. Let g = 10 ms -2
a. What is its speed on touching the ground?
b. What is its average speed during 0.5s?
c. How high is the ledge from the ground? 3

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
1. Earth attracts apple from the tree and it falls on it but the earth does not move towards the
apple. Why?
2. Is uniform circular motion taking place at a constant speed or constant velocity? Why?
3. Name the force which is required to maintain a body in uniform circular motion?
4. A ball is projected vertically upwards with an initial velocity of u goes to a maximum height h
before coming to ground. What is the value of h?
5. Is value of ‘g’ same everywhere?
6. Find relationship between ‘g’ and ‘G’
7. During a free-fall what is the weight of a body. Give reason for the answer.
8. A stone and feather are thrown from a tower, both the objects should reach the ground at same
time but it does not. Why?
9. What is the value of ‘G’, universal gravitational constant?
10. Find the value of ‘g’, acceleration due to gravity.
11. Calculate value of ‘g’ on moon.
12. Show that the weight of the body on moon =1/6 of the weight of the body in earth.

Gravitation class IX by Harsha Sir Page 4