Gravitational field

Section A. Answer every question in the spaces supplied.

May/June 2013

You may treat the Earth as an isolated uniform sphere, with its mass of $6.0 \times 10^{24}\,\text{kg}$ concentrated at the centre. A satellite of mass $1200\,\text{kg}$ moves in a circular orbit around the Earth within the Earth’s gravitational field. The orbital period is $94\,\text{minutes}$.

May/June 2021

The Earth can be treated as a uniform isolated sphere, with its mass of $6.0 \times 10^{24}\,\text{kg}$ taken to be concentrated at the centre. A satellite of mass $1200\,\text{kg}$ moves in a circular orbit around the Earth within the Earth’s gravitational field. The orbital period is $94\,\text{minutes}$.

May/June 2021

State what a gravitational field line represents.

May/June 2025

State what the direction of the gravitational field line at a point in a gravitational field indicates.

Oct/Nov 2023

State what the direction of a gravitational field line at a point shows.

Oct/Nov 2023

The Sun can be treated as a uniform sphere with mass $1.99 \times 10^{30}\,\text{kg}$ and surface temperature $5780\,\text{K}$. A probe of mass $2.63\,\text{kg}$ travels in a straight line towards the Sun. At a distance $x$ from the Sun’s centre, the probe measures the gravitational field strength $g$ caused by the Sun and the radiant flux intensity $F$ of radiation from the Sun.

Oct/Nov 2024