2.

8 Understanding
Gravity
Chapter 2 Forces and Motion

When a boy
accidentally
drop books from
his hand.
The books drop
to the ground.

 The book is pulled towards the Earth by

the force of gravity.
The force of gravity on the Earth is
caused by a gravitational field around
the Earth.
The direction of the gravitational field.

Acceleration due to gravity

A coin and a feather.

Both the coin and the feather are
released simultaneously from the
same height.
What will happen?

In air
The air resistance to the feather is greater

than the air resistance to the coin.

The feather falls with a smaller acceleration
and takes longer time to reach the ground.

What happen if it happen in a vacuum?

Vacuum in the absence of air resistance

In Vacuum Put a coin and a feather into

the tube (see diagram).

Close one end with a rubber
stopper, the other end with
a bung having a small tube
with a clip for pumping the
air out.
Hold the tube vertically so
that both the coin and
feather fall to one end.
Now invert the tube quickly
and observe the fall of the

In Vacuum in the absence of air

resistance

In a vacuum, both

the coin and the

vacuum would fall
with the same
acceleration
regardless of their
shapes or masses.

Elephant and Feather - Free Fall

A free-falling object is an
object falling under the force
of gravity only.
A free-falling objects does
not encounter other forces
like air resistance or friction
that would oppose its
motion.

 The motion of the elephant and the

feather in the absence of air resistance is

shown. Further, the acceleration of each
object is represented by a vector arrow.
Many people are surprised by the fact that
in the absence of air resistance, the
elephant and the feather strike the ground
at the same time.
On earth, all objects (whether an elephant
or a feather) have the same force of
gravity.

Stroboscopic photograph

A stroboscopic

photography is a
photography that shows
the image of an object in
motion.
The images are taken at
regular time intervals.

 Figure shows a stroboscopic

photography of two steel
spheres (of different sizes)
falling under gravity.
The two spheres are dropped
simultaneously from the same
height.
The time intervals between two
successive images are the

 Inferences 1
Two spheres are

falling with an
acceleration.
The distance
between two
successive images of
each sphere
increases, showing
that the two spheres
are falling with
increasing velocity,
i.e. acceleration

The two spheres are

falling with same

acceleration.
Thus, a heavy object
and a light object fall
with the same
gravitational
acceleration.
In other words,
gravitational
acceleration is
independent of mass.

Air resistance

Air resistance depends on the shape or cross-

sectional area of the falling object.

Air resistance also increases with the velocity of
the falling object. An object moving at a higher
velocity encounters greater air resistance than a
similar object moving at a lower velocity.
For a compact falling object, its acceleration has
almost the same value as the gravitational
acceleration.
However, a light object like a piece of paper or a
feather does not undergo free fall.
This is because of the large air resistance that
acts against it when it falls.

Acceleration of Gravity

Figure shows that all objects are pulled

towards the centre of the Earth by the
force of gravity.
The objects will falls with an
acceleration of 9.8 ms-2 due to the pull
of this gravitational force.
Since this acceleration is due to the
force of gravity, it is called the
gravitational acceleration.
The gravitational acceleration is
denoted by the symbol, g

Activity 2.5 To determine the value of

gravitational acceleration, g

Apparatus / Materials:
Ticker-timer with carbonised tape, power supply,
retort stand, slotted weights with holder, Gclamp, cellophane tape and soft board.

 Procedure
1. A ticker-timer is clamped to a retort stand
with a G-clamp and placed on a tabletop.
2. One end of a carbonised ticker tape
(approximately 1.5 m in length) is attached
to a weight holder with a total mass of 200
g.
3. The other end of the ticker tape is passed
through the ticker-timer.
4. A soft board is placed on the floor below
the weight to stop its fall.

 5. The ticker-timer is switched on and the

weight is released so that it falls squarely

onto the soft board.
6. Six strips are cut off from the middle
section of the ticker tape with each strip
containing 2 dot-spaces.
7. A tape chart is construed. Form the
chart, the acceleration of gravity is
calculated.

Weight and Gravitational Acceleration

The weight of an object is defined as the force

of gravity which is exerted on it by Earth.
From the formula, F = ma
Since weight , W, is the force of gravity acting
on an object of mass, m, that makes it fall
with an acceleration, g, therefore, using the
corresponding terms,

W = mg

Weight = Mass x Acceleration due to

gravity

Gravitational Acceleration & Gravitational Field

Strength

A gravitational field is the region in which an

object experiences a force due to
gravitational attraction.
gravitational field strength is defined as
The

the ratio of the weight to the mass of the

object or weight per unit mass.

Gravitational field strength =

Unit: N kg-1

Gravitational Acceleration & Gravitational Field

Strength

Gravitational field strength =

Rearranging the formula,
W = m x Gravitational field strength
Compare with W = mg

Example

1. An object of 8 kg weighs 120N on a planet.

Find the gravitational field strength on the
planet.
2. Calculate the weight of an astronaut with a

mass 100 kg
(a) On Earth
(b) on the Moon where the gravitational
acceleration is of that on Earth.
(c) In outer space [take g = 10ms-2]

Mass & Weight

Mass, m

The mass =

Weight, W

The weight = force of

gravity
amount of matter The weight is varies
with the magnitude of
The mass is
constant
gravitational field
strength, g of the
everywhere
location.
A
scalar
quantity

A
vector
quantity

A base quantity
A derived quantity

Unit: kilogram (kg) Unit: newton (N)

Equations of motion with constant

acceleration

 Some recommend changing the

acceleration, a in the equations to g,

but this is not necessary.
Simply bear in mind that while
solving problems involving free fall,
the acceleration, a in the equations
has a value of:
a = 10ms-2(for downward motion)
a = - 10ms-2(for upward motion)

Example

1. Ali is a basketball player. His vertical leap

is 0.75 m. What is his take-off speed?

 2. A coconut takes 1.5 seconds to fall to the

ground. What is
(a) its speed when it strikes the ground?
(b) the height of the coconut tree?

 3. After winning a game, a pitcher throws

a baseball vertically up with a velocity of

30 ms-1
(a) What is the time taken for the ball to
reach the maximum height?
(b) What is the speed of the baseball
when it returns to his hand?
(c) How long is the ball in the air before it
comes back to his hands?

Problems Involving F = ma and W

=mg
Lift

reading on the scale shows the

normal reaction force, R
W = true weight = mg
R = normal reaction force
exerted on the girl by the
platform of the scale

Weighing

1. When a girl stands on the platform of

a weighing scale, there are two forces
acting on her:
(a) the girls weight, W (= mg) acting
downwards,
(b) the upward normal reaction
force, R exerted on her feet by the
platform of the scale
2. The reading of the scale gives the
value of the normal reaction force,
R.

Different situation in the lift,

Lift at rest or moves up or down at a constant

velocity
What is the reading shows at scale?

 Lift moves up at an acceleration of a ms-2

What is the reading shows at
scale?

 Lift moves down at an acceleration of a

ms-2

What is the reading shows at scale?

 Help! I am floating!

What is the apparent weight of a girl

on a weighing scale in a lift if the
cable of the lift suddenly breaks?

A student of mass 50 kg stands on

weighing scale in a lift. If the reading on
the scale becomes 550 N, is the lift
accelerating upwards or downwards? Find
the magnitude of the acceleration of the
lift.

Problems Involving F = ma and W

=mg
Pulley system

Pulley system

A frictionless pulley serves to changes the

direction of a force.
The tension, T that results from the pulling at
the ends of the string or rope has the same
magnitude along its entire length.

2 type of pulley system

(A)
(B)

A force pulling a mass over a pulley

A pulley with two masses

(A) A force pulling a mass over a

pulley

In this situation, the

tension T, is equal to
the pulling force F,
even if the rope is
slanting

A boy is pulling a bucket filled with sand. The

mass of the bucket with the sand is 3 kg.
Find the tension in the rope if the bucket is
(a) stationary
(b) moving up with a constant acceleration
of 2 ms-2

 (B)

A pulley with two

masses
The heavier mass will
accelerate downwards
while the lighter one will
accelerate upwards with
the same magnitude.
The tension is not equal
to the weight of either
mass.

Two masses of 5kg and 3 kg are connected to a

rope which passes over a frictionless pulley.
Find the tension in the rope and the acceleration
of the 3kg when 5kg mass is released.

A 2 kg weight is connected by a rope to a 3 kg

wooden block. The rope passes over a smooth
pulley .
The weight is then released. Find the tension in
the rope if a friction of 5N acts against the
wooden block.