WorksheetsCentripetal Motion
Total questions: 18
Worksheet time: 14mins
Planets A, B and C are identical. A and C have a giant moon orbiting them, while B has a lightweight artificial satellite orbiting it, as shown in the diagram. Which planet has the strongest gravitational interaction with its satellite?
Planet A, because its moon is heavy and close to it.
Planet B, because only a lightweight object can orbit without falling down.
Planet C, because it can interact with a heavy object that is far away.
All have the same gravitational attraction, because the planets are all the same mass.
Which of the following is not true regarding Kepler and his laws of planetary motion?
Kepler discovered that orbiting objects travel in ellipses
Kepler had a solid understand of why his laws were true
The true reasoning behind Kepler's Laws wasn't known until Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
Kepler discovered that all planets orbit the sun at a nearly constant T2/r3 ratio
Suppose Alderaan (the planet destroyed by the Death Star in the .gif) had a moon. Assuming the moon survived the explosion, what would path would it take after the planet was destroyed?
It would continue in its orbit
It would stop and stay still
It would continue on it's inertial path in a line tangential to its original orbit
It would go into hiding to avoid the Death Star
According to Kepler's Second Law, the areas of triangle A and B are equal and took an equal amount of time to create. What must be true as a result?
The planet must travel at a constant speed throughout it's orbit
The planet traveled faster through triangle A than triangle B
The planet traveled faster through triangle B than triangle A
The planet moves faster when it's further away from the sun
The period is the length of time to complete one full cycle. What is the period of a planet around the sun?
The amount of times a planet orbits the sun in an Earth year
The number of times the planet rotates in an Earth year
The amount of distance a planet travels in an Earth year
The time it takes for the planet to complete its orbit
Each planet below has the same mass (M) and an identical rocket orbiting at a distance (D). The darker the planet, the denser the material. Which rocket experiences a stronger force of gravity?
A, higher density means stronger gravity when distance to center of the planet is the same.
B, smaller distance to the surface of the planet means stronger gravity when mass of the planet is the same.
Both the same, each planet has the same mass and the rocket is at the same distance from the center of the planet.
Despite being far more massive than the earth, Saturn has a similar acceleration due to gravity. What causes this to be the case?
Saturn has the density as Earth, and your weight depends only on the planet’s density.
Saturn’s large size would cause you to weigh, but the rings counter the effect.
Saturn is much more massive, but on its surface you are further from its center.
The acceleration due to gravity is the same on all planets, regardless of size.
An object is moving in uniform circular motion as shown in the picture. Which arrow best represents the direction of the Net Force acting on the object?
A
B
C
D
A small sphere is swung in a vertical circle. Which of the following combinations represents the direction of the velocity and acceleration at the right-most point of the circle?
A car drifts around a turn. What is providing the centripetal force to keep the car from spinning out of the circle?
Gravity
The Normal Force
Weight
Friction
As you fall towards the earth while sky diving, which of the following statements are true regarding gravity? Check all that apply
The Earth is pulling you downwards
You are pulling the Earth upwards
The force of gravity decreases as you fall towards the Earth
The Earth's force on you is greater than your force on the Earth
True or False: Your mass has an impact on the acceleration due to gravity you experience.
True
False
Based on a few simple equations, we can calculate the orbital speed of things like the ISS or satellites. What would happen to these things in orbit if their speed dropped below their calculated speed?
They would continue in their orbits, just slower
They would escape the gravity of the planet and head outwards on their inertial paths
The object would fall out of orbit and crash into the planet
The object would slow until it remained stationary in space
When an object is experiencing uniform circular motion, its speed is constant. How can it have an acceleration if that's the case?
The magnitude of the velocity is changing as it goes around the circle
The direction of the velocity is changing as it goes around the circle
There is no acceleration for objects experiencing uniform circular motion
Objects moving in a circle have different acceleration rules than things moving in straight lines
Indicate which of the following statements are true regarding an object experiencing uniform circular motion. Check all that apply.
A force always works to pull the object out of the circle
The acceleration of the object is pointed in a line tangential to the circle
The object moves at a constant speed
Both the force and acceleration of the object faces towards the center of the circle
Assuming the Andromeda galaxy spins at a uniform rate, which stars would be moving the fastest?
Stars closest to the center
Stars furthest from the center
Stars with the hottest temperature
All the stars would travel at the same rate
How does the gravitational force the Earth exerts on the Sun compare to the gravitational force the Sun exerts on the Earth?
The gravitational force of the Sun on the Earth is larger
The gravitational force of the Earth on the Sun is larger
The gravitational forces are equal
There's not enough information to answer the question
A ball on a string is spun around in a circle. Which of the following quantities is NOT constant?
Mass
Velocity
Force
Acceleration
