Test Prep for AP® Courses
6.5 Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation
Jupiter has a mass approximately 300 times greater than Earth's and a radius about 11 times greater. How will the gravitational acceleration at the surface of Jupiter compare to that at the surface of Earth?
- greater
- less
- about the same
- not enough information
Given Newton's universal law of gravitation (Figure 6.21), under what circumstances is the force due to gravity maximized?
In the formula , what does G represent?
- acceleration due to gravity
- a gravitational constant that is the same everywhere in the universe
- a gravitational constant that is inversely proportional to the radius
- the factor by which you multiply the inertial mass to obtain the gravitational mass
Saturn's moon Titan has a radius of 2.58 × 106 m and a measured gravitational field of 1.35 m/s2. What is its mass?
A recently discovered planet has a mass twice as great as Earth's and a radius twice as large as Earth's. What will be the approximate size of its gravitational field?
- 19 m/s2
- 4.9 m/s2
- 2.5 m/s2
- 9.8 m/s2
4. Earth is 1.5 × 1011 m from the Sun. Mercury is 5.7 × 1010 m from the Sun. How does the gravitational field of the Sun on Mercury (gSM) compare to the gravitational field of the Sun on Earth (gSE)?