What is the relationship between gravitational field strength and gravitational
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the relationship between gravitational field strength and gravitational potential?
Field strength is the gradient of potential.
Field strength is the integral of potential.
They are independent.
Field strength is the square of potential.
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the relationship between gravitational field strength and gravitational potential?
Step 1: Understand that gravitational potential is a measure of the potential energy per unit mass at a point in a gravitational field.
Step 2: Recognize that gravitational field strength is the force experienced by a unit mass placed in the gravitational field.
Step 3: Learn that the gravitational field strength tells us how strong the gravitational pull is at a specific location.
Step 4: Know that the gradient refers to how much a quantity changes over a distance. In this case, it means how gravitational potential changes as you move through the gravitational field.
Step 5: Realize that the negative gradient means that as you move to a point of lower gravitational potential (where potential energy decreases), the gravitational field strength increases.
