Chapter 2

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15
Forces And Motion

Gravity
Galileo performed the To vacuum pump
free fall experiment at (a) (b)
the Leaning Tower of vacuum Glass Air
Pisa to show that two cylinder

balls of different masses

will fall to the ground at Feather Dice
the same rate.
In (a), the feather and dice fall at the
same rate in a vacuum. In (b), the feather
falls slower due to air resistance.

To Determine The Acceleration Due To Gravity

The motion of an object under free fall can be analysed by taking its
stroboscopic photograph as shown in the figure.
By using the equation of motion a = v – u , the acceleration due to
t
gravity g can be determined.
g = 9.8 m s–2 ≈ 10 m s–2

Gravitational Field Strength And Weight

Any object, especially a huge one such as the Earth Earth
or the Sun has a gravitational field surrounding it. Object
F
An object placed in the gravitational field will m
experience a gravitational attraction.
The weight of an object is equal to the Weight, W = mg
gravitational force attracting the object. Gravitational field strength,
The gravitational field strength is defined as W
g= m
force per unit mass acting on the object.

Question An object of mass 5 kg is released from a tall building of height 500 m.

If the acceleration due to gravity is 10 m s–2, what is the (a) weight of the
object, (b) gravitational field strength, and (c) time taken to reach the ground?
Solution (a) W = mg = 5 × 10 = 50 N (c) s = ut + 1 at 2
2
1
(b) g = W = 10 N kg–1 500 = 0 + (10)t 2
2
m
Time taken t = 10 s

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