What is the gravitational potential at a distance 'r' from a mass 'M'?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the gravitational potential at a distance 'r' from a mass 'M'?
-GM/r
-GM/r^2
GM/r
GM/r^2
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the gravitational potential at a distance 'r' from a mass 'M'?
Correct Answer: V = -GM/r
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: Identify the variables: 'M' is the mass creating the gravitational field, 'r' is the distance from the mass where we want to find the gravitational potential, and 'G' is the gravitational constant.
Step 3: Recall the formula for gravitational potential: V = -GM/r.
Step 4: Plug in the values of 'M' and 'r' into the formula to calculate the gravitational potential at that distance.
