Gen Physics
Gen Physics
Gen Physics
General Physics 1
Quarter 2 – Module 2:
Lesson 1:Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation Gravitational Field,
and Gravitational Potential Energy
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Team Leaders:
School Head : Carlito A. Pontillas
LRMDS Coordinator : Annie Rhose C. Rosales
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General Physics 1
Quarter 2 – Module 2:
Lesson 1:Newton’s Law of
Universal Gravitation
Gravitational Field,
and Gravitational Potential
Energy
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Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
Welcome to the General Physics - Grade12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module
on Lesson 1: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitational Field, and Gravitational
Potential Energy!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:
As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
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Welcome to the General Physics - Grade12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module
on Lesson 1: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitational Field, and Gravitational
Potential Energy!
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.
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1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
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This module was designed and written to make easier for you to understand and to
assist you to master the lesson in Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation,
gravitational field and gravitational potential energy. In our everyday life we are used
to see falling objects like for example, coconut fruit from the coconut tree fell on the
ground same thing as falling apple from the tree, this made Newton’s think about
the problem of the motion of the planet. What makes the coconut and apple fall? And
why coconut and apple fell straight to the ground? What is the force between apple
and the ground? You will find the answer to this questions following discussion on
the topic of Newton’s law of universal gravitation, gravitational field and gravitational
potential energy.
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What I Know
DIRECTION: Read and analyze the following expressions below. Choose the letter
that best describe your answer. Use a separate sheet of paper as your answer sheet.
3. The force of gravity on you is greatest when you are standing _____.
A. far above Earth's surface
B. just above Earth's surface
C. on Earth's surface
D. below Earth’s surface
4. Two objects move toward each other because of gravitational attraction. As the
objects get closer and closer, the force between them _____.
A. remains constant
B. decreases
C. increases
D. no effect
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7. The gravitational pull of the Earth acting on the body whether the body is
in contact with the Earth or not, is known as
A. force of inertia
B. force of limiting friction
C. force of gravity
D. field force
8. The force due to which everybody of the universe attracts every other body
is
A. force of gravitation
B. force of limiting friction
C. force of inertia
D. force of mechanics
A. kinetic energy
B. mechanical energy
C. potential energy
D. chemical energy
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14. You and your friend want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Your friend takes
the elevator straight up. You decide to walk up the spiral stairway, taking longer to
do so. Compare the gravitational potential energy (U) of you and your friend, after
you both reach the top.
A. Both of you have the same amount of potential energy.
B. It is impossible to tell, since the distances are unknown.
C. Your friend's U is greater than your U, because she got to the top faster.
D. It is impossible to tell, since the times are unknown.
15. A very massive object A and a less massive object B move toward each other
under the influence of mutual gravitation. Which force, if either, is greater?
A. The force on B
B. The force on A
C. Both forces are the same
D. cannot be determined
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What’s In
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What’s New
In the topic of dynamics, forces, mass, momentum and energy, we have been dealing
with weights of various objects. Weight is name given to the force acting on the object
due to gravity. The force of attraction between two objects must be proportion to the
objects’ masses, this is known as the gravitational force. To explain this, we use
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.
Gravitation is a natural occurrence by which physical objects attract each other due
to their masses. There is a force that appears whenever masses are present, and this
is a non-contact force. In relation to this, Newton concluded that this non-contact
gravitational force must be responsible for the falling of an apple from a tree, as it is
also the cause for the rotation of the moon about the earth. According to Newton’s
Law of universal Gravitation which states that:
Every object in the Universe attracts every other object with a force directed
along the line of centers for the two objects that is proportional to the product
of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the separation
between the two objects.
This means that for two point masses M and m, separated by distance r, the
magnitude of the gravitational force attracting them towards each other is:
where:
F is the magnitude of the gravitational force
[N]
G, the constant of universal gravitation, is
6.67 x 10-11 N m2 kg-2
M is one of the point mass [kg]
m is the other point mass [kg]
r is the centretocentre distance between the
two point masses [m]
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Example 1
(a) Calculate the gravitational force exerted between the Earth and its Moon, given
mass of the Earth, ME = 6.0 1024 kg; mass of the Moon, MM = 7.4 1022 kg;
distance between the centers of the Earth and Moon, D = 3.8 108 m.
Solution
(6.67 x 10-11 N.m2/kg2) (6.0 x 1024 kg) (7x1024 kg)
Gravitational force: =
(3.8 x 108 m)2
= 2.05x1020 N
(b) What is the gravitational force, between two bowling balls of 7.26 kg each, with
their centers separated by 0.30m?
Solution
(6.67 x 10-11 N.m2/kg2) (7.26 kg) (7.26 kg)
Gravitational force: =.
(0.30 m)2
=3.9 x 10-8 N
Practice Problem
What is the gravitational force between two 15 kg packages that are 0.35 m apart?
Gravitational force is very evident in our everyday life. Like for example, when
you throw a ball into the air, the ball will fall back to the ground, as Isaac
Newton says; “What Goes Up, Must Come Down”. It also plays a very
important role in many processes on earth. The gravitational attraction of
both the Moon and Sun on the earth’s oceans cause ocean tide. Also in terms
of planetary motion, gravitational force is responsible for keeping the Earth in
its orbit around the Sun. The knowledge of universal gravitation, is also
important in understanding space travel.
GRAVITATIONAL FIELD
The concept of gravitational field started when Newton wondered how the sun could
exert a force on planet earth, which was hundreds of millions of kilometers away.
How can two objects exert attractive force on each other when they are not in contact
with each other? It is because gravitational fields affect anything that has mass.
Newton realized that all objects with mass attract each other. Gravitational attractive
forces between two objects only affect their motion when at least one of the objects
is very massive. This explains why we are aware of the force that attracts us and
other objects towards the Earth – the Earth is very massive. The mass of the Earth
is
about 6 × 1024 kg.
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When you pick up an object such as a coin, there is a direct contact between you
and the coin. This direct contact exerts a force on the coin, causing it to move in the
way that it does. However, the coin also has a weight due to its presence in the
Earth’s gravitational field. How is this force exerted, even when there is no direct
contact between the Earth and the coin? A force is exerted on the coin from the Earth
because the coin is in the Earth’s gravitational field . We can define the field due
to a body as the region of space surrounding it where other bodies will feel a force
due to it.
The concept of magnetism, which developed by Michael Faraday, was also applied to
gravity. This is the concept of the field to explain how a magnet attract objects.
A gravitational field (vector) is the force field that exists in the space around every
mass or group of masses. This field cannot be touched or seen, but we can try to
model it using field lines or lines of force . In a field line diagram below, the direction
of the field line at a point gives the direction of the force of attraction that would be
felt by a small mass placed there. The relative density of field lines on the diagram is
an indication of the strength of the field. We can compare this with the more familiar
magnetic field patterns.
How would the earth’s gravitational field look like? See diagram below:
Example 1
Data required: G = 6.67 10-11 N m2 kg-2, mass of the Earth = 6.0 1024 kg,
radius of the Earth = 6.4 106 m.
(a.) Treating the Earth as a perfect sphere, Find the field strength at the
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Practice Problem
Compute g for the surface of the moon. Its radius is 1.7 x10 6 m and its mass is 7.4
x 1022 kg.
Applications and relevance to daily life
The earth and moon exert a force, or pull, on each other even though they are not in
contact. In other words, the two bodies interact with one another's gravitational
field. Another example is the interaction of the earth and a satellite in orbit around
it.
What’s More
Gravity is a force which tries to pull two objects toward each other. The Earth’s
gravity is what keeps you standing on the ground, and what makes objects to
fall. Everything on this planet is held by gravity. The house we live in, the buildings,
the plants, water, animals, and the air we breathe are all held by gravity. Same thing
in the universe the planets, the moons, and the stars have gravity. People living
within the earth have gravity. Consider an object that is present at some height,
earth’s gravitational force acts on that object to attract it towards the earth’s surface,
therefore, it is called gravitational potential energy.
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There is a direct relation between gravitational potential energy and the mass and
height of an object. More massive objects have greater gravitational potential energy.
And the higher that an object is elevated, the greater the gravitational potential
energy. These relationship are expressed by the given equation below:
where:
PEgrav = mgh PEgrav, is the gravitational potential energy [J].
m, represents the mass of the object [kg]
g, represents the gravitational field strength (9.8 N/kg on
Earth)
h, represent the height of the object [m]
Example 1
A cart is loaded with a brick and pulled at constant speed along an inclined plane
to the height of a seat-top. If the mass of the loaded cart is 5.0 kg and the height of
the seat top is 0.55 meters, then what is the potential energy of the loaded cart at
the height of the seat-top?
Solution
PEgrav = mgh
PEgrav = (5 kg)(9.8 N/kg)(0.55 m)
PEgrav = 26.95J
Example 2
A larger block of stone is held at a height of 15m having gained 4500J of GPE. How
much does it weight?
Solution
m = PEgrav /gh = 4500J /(9.8 N/kg)(15 m)
m= 30.61 kg
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Example 3
An object whose mass is 43kg is hanging on a thin wire. The object has a gravitational
potential energy of 3160.5J. How high is the object above the ground?
Solution
h = PEgrav /mg = 3160.5J /( 43kg)(9.8 N/kg)
h= 7.5m
Practice Problem
1.An object has a gravitational potential energy that is 833 J? Its height above ground
is 4.25 m. What is its mass?
When you go to mountain trip and see a rock resting on the edge of the cliff remember
that it has some energy stored in it in the form of gravitational potential energy.
Another is water that is held in dam reservoirs for irrigation, and generating
electricity in hydropower plants. Since the water held in reservoirs is at rest and is
prohibited from flowing the energy present in, it will be a potential energy because
this is the type of energy which is at rest.
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What I Can Do
In these activities, you will investigate Newton’s Law of Gravitation. You will
experimentally investigate the fact that the acceleration of an object due to
gravity is independent of its mass.
Materials:
Several objects of different masses and sizes, such as
pencils, crumpled piece of paper, coins, plastic bottle
cover. Make sure they are not breakable!
Procedure:
Record your observation in a separate sheets of paper
1.You will drop various objects to the floor to see if they will fall at different rates.
Record your observation
2. Drop a pencil and crumpled piece of paper. Make a repeatable trial for your
observation.Which one fell faster? Explain
3. Drop a coin and plastic bottle cover. Make a repeatable trial for your observation.
Which one fell faster? Explain
4. Standing on a chair drop the pencil and coin. Make a repeatable trial for your
observation.Which one fell faster? Explain
5. From your observation make a conclusion.
Assessment for this Activity
Points Description
4 A. Learner is able to predict the motion of objects falling to the ground.
B. Learner is able to make repeatable measurements of falling objects. C.
Learner able to thoughtfully consider the initial predictions and revise
them, if in correct. D. Learner is able to correctly conclude that mass has
no effect on acceleration
3 Learner achieves the first three objectives above.
2 Learner achieves the first two objectives above.
1 Learner achieve only the first objective.
0 Learner achieves none of the objectives above.
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Assessment
Direction.Choose the letter that best represents your answer. Use a separate piece
of paper that will serve as your answer sheet.
1. What is the GPE of a chandelier that has a mass of 9.5kg and is 3m high.
A. 279.3
B. 280.3
C. 297.3
D. 273.3
2. What is the mass of an object that is hanging 12.6m above the surface of the earth
and has a gravitational potential energy of 2778.3J?
A. 226
B. 224
C. 225
D. 227
3. When a person holds a ball above Earth’s surface, the system contains
gravitational potential energy. Where is this potential energy stored?
A. in the ball
B. inside Earth
4. The moon has a mass of 7.35 x 1022kg and a radius of 1.74 x 106 m. What is the
gravitational force between the moon and an 85 kg astronaut? (G = 6.673 x10-11
N•m2 /kg2 )
A. 1.4 x 102 N
B. 1.3 x 102 N
C. 1.4 x 104 N
D. 1.3 x 104N
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B. inertial mass
C. gravitational field strength
D. weight
10. Which of the following equations expresses Newton’s law of universal gravitation?
A. Fg = mv2t/r
B. Fg = m1m2/r
C. g = GME/r2
D. Fg = Gm1m2/r2
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Additional Activities
TRY THIS!
Materials:
1 ruler
Procedure:
Part A.
1. The table below shows the gravitational force between Saturn and some particles
in Saturn’s ring. All of the particles are the same distance, 180,000 km, from Saturn’s
center.
Table 1. Mass and
Gravitational Force Data
Mass of Gravitational
Ring
Force between
Particle
(kg) Saturn and
ring particle (in
10,000 N)
2 23
3 35
4 47
5 58
6 70
7 82
8 93
9 105
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2. Use the data in the table to make a graph of the relationship between mass and
gravitational force. Label your graph “Gravitational Force and mass”.
Hint: Put the data for mass on the horizontal axis and the data for gravitational force on
the vertical axis.
3. Look at your graphed data, and record in your answering sheet any relationship you
notice.
Part B.
1. The table below shows the gravitational force between Saturn and some ring
particles that are at different distance from the planet. All of the particles have a
mass of 1 kg.
Table 1. Distance and Gravitational
Force Data
Distance of 1- Gravitational
kg Ring
Force between 2. Use the data in the table to make a
Particle from
Center of Saturn and 1-kg graph of the relationship between
Saturn (in ring particle (in distance and gravitational force. Label
1,000 km) your graph “Gravitational Force and
10,000 N)
distance”.
100 38 Hint: Put the data for distance on the
120 26 horizontal axis and the data for
gravitational force on the vertical axis.
130 22
150 17 3. Look at your graphed data, and
180 12 record in your answering sheet any
200 9 relationship you notice.
220 8
250 6
280 5
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Analysis
Use separate answering sheet for the 3.Look at the picture below of an
following question astronaut at two different distances from
a planet. In which position, A or B, would
1. Compare your two graphs, Identify and
there be a stronger gravitational pull
explain any:
between the astronaut and the planet?
a. similarities
Explain
b. differences
2.Look at the picture of two planets below.
The diameter is the same, but Planet B has
twice the mass of Planet A. which one
would you expect to have a stronger pull
of gravity on its surface? Explain
Planet A Planet B
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Assessment: What I Can Do:
1. A The score on the
Additional
2. C assessment is
Activities: 3. D based on the
4. A
- it depends on the answer of each
5. D
learner answer. student
6. D
7. A
8. A
9. A
10. D
11. FALSE
12. TRUE
13. FALSE
14. TRUE
15. TRUE
What I Know:
What I have learned: 1. A&B
2. B
1. Gravity
3. C
2. Gravitational
4. C
Field
5. D
3. Isaac Newton
6. A
4. Apple
7. D
5. Universal
8. A
gravitation
9. A
6. Sun
10. C
7. Contact
11. C
8. Massive
12. A
9. Weight
13. D
10. Height
14. A
15. C
Answer Key
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References
DepEd (2020). Most Essential Learning Competencies with Corresponding CG codes.
General Physics 1. Pp 640-647.
Nix, E. (2018, September 1). “Did an apple really fall on Isaac Newton’s head?”.
History.Com. https://www.history.com/news/did-an-apple-really-fall-on-
isaac-newtons-
head#:~:text=Legend%20has%20it%20that%20a,with%20his%20law%20of%
20gravity.
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