Physics D.1.

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22 Terms

1
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State Newton’s Universal Law of gravitation

Every single point mass attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their separation

2
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Define ‘gravitational field’

A region of space where a mass experiences a force because of its mass

3
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Define ‘gravitational field strength’

The force per unit mass experienced by a small point mass placed in the field

4
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What is gravitational field strength measured in?

N kg^-1

5
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Is gravitational field strength a scalar or vector quantity?

Vector

6
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When drawing field lines, how do you show the field strength?

thick lines = high field strength

7
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Define gravitational potential

The gravitational potential is the work, per unit mass, on a small test mass in bringing it from infinity to a position

8
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Define gravitational potential energy of a system

It is the work done to assemble the system from infinite separation of the components of the system

9
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Define gravitational potential energy for a two-body system

10
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Define escape speed

The minimum speed required for an object launched from the surface of a planet to reach infinity

11
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What must be present for a body to travel in a circle?

an unbalanced force (centripetal force) acting toward the centre

12
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State Kepler’s first law

Planetary orbits are elliptical with a star at a focus

13
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State Kepler’s second law

The radius vector from the star to the orbiting body sweeps equal areas in equal times

14
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What is the semi-major axis of an ellipse?

The distance from the center of the ellipse to the farthest point on the perimeter

15
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An orbiting body gets ______ (faster/slower) as it gets closer to the star

faster

16
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What are planets and stars?

point masses

17
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Gravitational forces are always ____

attractive

18
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How are equipotential lines drawn with respect to gravitational potential?

Equipotential lines are perpendicular to gravitational field lines

19
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How do equipotential lines change as they get further away from the planet?

They get further apart from each other

20
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What happens to the total energy as the orbital radius increases?

Total energy increases

21
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What happens to the kinetic energy is the orbital radius of a satellite increases?

Kinetic energy decreases

22
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What happens to the potential energy if the orbital radius of a satellite increases?

Potential energy increases