Q. If a satellite's speed is less than the required orbital speed, what will happen?
A.It will remain in orbit.
B.It will fall back to Earth.
C.It will escape into space.
D.It will move to a higher orbit.
Solution
If a satellite's speed is less than the required orbital speed, it will not have enough centripetal force to maintain its orbit and will fall back to Earth.
Q. If the distance from the center of the Earth is doubled, what happens to the gravitational field strength?
A.It doubles.
B.It halves.
C.It becomes one-fourth.
D.It becomes zero.
Solution
The gravitational field strength varies inversely with the square of the distance from the center of the Earth, so if the distance is doubled, the field strength becomes one-fourth.
Q. If the Earth were to suddenly shrink to half its radius while keeping its mass constant, what would happen to the gravitational force at its surface?
A.It would remain the same
B.It would double
C.It would become half
D.It would become four times stronger
Solution
If the radius is halved, the gravitational force increases by a factor of 4, since F = GM/R^2.
Correct Answer: D — It would become four times stronger
Q. If the Earth were to suddenly shrink to half its radius while maintaining its mass, what would happen to the gravitational force at its surface?
A.It would double
B.It would remain the same
C.It would become half
D.It would become four times stronger
Solution
The gravitational force at the surface is inversely proportional to the square of the radius. If the radius is halved, the force becomes four times stronger.
Correct Answer: D — It would become four times stronger
Q. If the gravitational field strength at a point is 10 N/kg, what is the gravitational potential at that point, assuming it is 2 meters above the reference point?
A.-20 J/kg
B.-10 J/kg
C.0 J/kg
D.-5 J/kg
Solution
Gravitational potential V = -g * h = -10 N/kg * 2 m = -20 J/kg.
Q. If the gravitational field strength at a point is 10 N/kg, what is the gravitational potential at that point assuming it is at a distance of 2 m from the mass?
A.-20 J/kg
B.-10 J/kg
C.0 J/kg
D.-5 J/kg
Solution
Gravitational potential V = -g * r = -10 * 2 = -20 J/kg.
Q. If the gravitational field strength at a point is 10 N/kg, what is the gravitational potential at that point, assuming it is at a distance of 2 m from the mass creating the field?
A.-20 J/kg
B.-10 J/kg
C.0 J/kg
D.-5 J/kg
Solution
Gravitational potential V = -g * r = -10 N/kg * 2 m = -20 J/kg.
Q. If the gravitational field strength at a point is 10 N/kg, what is the gravitational potential at that point, assuming it is at a distance of 2 meters from the mass creating the field?
A.-20 J/kg
B.-10 J/kg
C.0 J/kg
D.-5 J/kg
Solution
Gravitational potential V = -g * r = -10 N/kg * 2 m = -20 J/kg.
Q. If the gravitational field strength at a point is 10 N/kg, what is the gravitational potential at that point, assuming it is 2 meters from the mass creating the field?
A.-20 J/kg
B.-10 J/kg
C.0 J/kg
D.-5 J/kg
Solution
Gravitational potential V = -g * r = -10 N/kg * 2 m = -20 J/kg.
Q. If the gravitational field strength at a point is 10 N/kg, what is the gravitational potential at that point assuming the reference point is at infinity?
A.-10 J/kg
B.10 J/kg
C.0 J/kg
D.-5 J/kg
Solution
The gravitational potential V is related to the gravitational field strength g by V = -g * r. If we consider r to be 1 meter, V = -10 * 1 = -10 J/kg.
