Newton's Law Of Universal Gravitation
Two lead spheres each of mass 8 kg are placed so their centres are 20 cm apart on a smooth bench. What is the gravitational force of attraction between them?
Select the correct option:
Solution
1.07×10−7 N
According to NCERT Class 11, Chapter 8 (Gravitation), every point mass attracts every other point mass with a force directed along the line joining their centres, given by Newton's law of gravitation F=r2Gm1m2, where G=6.67×10−11N m2kg−2 is the universal gravitational constant. This law is universal, applying equally to laboratory spheres and to planets. Because each sphere is uniform, the shell theorem lets us treat all of its mass as concentrated at its centre, so the centre-to-centre distance r=0.20m is the correct separation to use. Substituting m1=m2=8kg gives F=(0.20)2(6.67×10−11)(8)(8)=0.046.67×10−11×64=1.07×10−7N. The option 2.13×10−7N doubles the result, an error from mishandling the product of the masses. The value 1.07×10−5N wrongly keeps r in centimetres rather than converting to metres. The value 4.27×10−9N comes from using r=2m instead of 0.20m. As a plausibility check, gravitational forces between everyday masses are extremely small because G is tiny, so a result of order 10−7N is entirely consistent.
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About This Question
- Subject
- physics
- Chapter
- gravitation
- Topic
- newton's law of universal gravitation
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
1.07×10−7 N
According to NCERT Class 11, Chapter 8 (Gravitation), every point mass attracts every other point mass with a force directed along the line joining their centres, given by Newton's law of gravitation F=r2Gm1m2, where G=6.67×10−11N m2kg−2 is the universal gravitational constant. This law is universal, applying equally to laboratory spheres and to planets. Because each sphere is uniform, the shell theorem lets us treat all of its mass as concentrated at its centre, so the centre-to-centre distance r=0.20m is the correct separation to use. Substituting m1=m2=8kg gives F=(0.20)2(6.67×10−11)(8)(8)=0.046.67×10−11×64=1.07×10−7N. The option 2.13×10−7N doubles the result, an error from mishandling the product of the masses. The value 1.07×10−5N wrongly keeps r in centimetres rather than converting to metres. The value 4.27×10−9N comes from using r=2m instead of 0.20m. As a plausibility check, gravitational forces between everyday masses are extremely small because G is tiny, so a result of order 10−7N is entirely consistent.
This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter gravitation, covering the topic of newton's law of universal gravitation. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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