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CHAPTER 13 Gravitation

BRIDGING PROBLEM

Speeds in an Elliptical Orbit

A comet orbits the sun (mass m S) in an elliptical orbit of semimajor axis a and eccentricity e. (a) Find expressions for the speeds
of the comet at perihelion and aphelion. (b) Evaluate these expressions for Comet Halley (see Example 13.9).
SOLUTION GUIDE
See MasteringPhysics study area for a Video Tutor solution.

IDENTIFY and SET UP

1. Sketch the situation; show all relevant dimensions. Label the
perihelion and aphelion.
2. List the unknown quantities, and identify the target variables.
3. Just as for a satellite orbiting the earth, the mechanical energy
is conserved for a comet orbiting the sun. (Why?) What other
quantity is conserved as the comet moves in its orbit? (Hint:
See Section 13.5.)

Problems

EXECUTE
4. Youll need at least two equations that involve the two unknown
speeds, and youll need expressions for the suncomet distances
at perihelion and aphelion. (Hint: See Fig. 13.18.)
5. Solve the equations for your target variables. Compare your
expressions: Which speed is lower? Does this make sense?
6. Use your expressions from step 5 to nd the perihelion and
aphelion speeds for Comet Halley. (Hint: See Appendix F.)
EVALUATE
7. Check whether your results make sense for the special case of a
circular orbit (e 0).

For instructor-assigned homework, go to www.masteringphysics.com

. , .. , ... : Problems of increasing difculty. CP: Cumulative problems incorporating material from earlier chapters. CALC: Problems
requiring calculus. BIO: Biosciences problems.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Q13.1 A student wrote: The only reason an apple falls downward
to meet the earth instead of the earth rising upward to meet the
apple is that the earth is much more massive and so exerts a much
greater pull. Please comment.
Q13.2 A planet makes a circular orbit with period T around a star.
If it were to orbit, at the same distance, a star with three times the
mass of the original star, would the new period (in terms of T ) be
(a) 3T, (b) T 13, (c) T, (d) T> 13, or (e) T>3?
Q13.3 If all planets had the same average density, how would the
acceleration due to gravity at the surface of a planet depend on its
radius?
Q13.4 Is a pound of butter on the earth the same amount as a
pound of butter on Mars? What about a kilogram of butter?
Explain.
Q13.5 Example 13.2 (Section 13.1) shows that the acceleration of
each sphere caused by the gravitational force is inversely proportional to the mass of that sphere. So why does the force of gravity
give all masses the same acceleration when they are dropped near
the surface of the earth?
Q13.6 When will you attract the sun more: today at noon, or
tonight at midnight? Explain.
Q13.7 Since the moon is constantly attracted toward the earth by
the gravitational interaction, why doesnt it crash into the earth?
Q13.8 A planet makes a circular orbit with period T around a star. If
the planet were to orbit at the same distance around this star, but
had three times as much mass, what would the new period (in terms
of T ) be: (a) 3T, (b) T 13, (c) T, (d) T> 13, or (e) T>3?
Q13.9 The sun pulls on the moon with a force that is more than
twice the magnitude of the force with which the earth attracts the
moon. Why, then, doesnt the sun take the moon away from the
earth?

Q13.10 As dened in Chapter 7, gravitational potential energy is

U = mgy and is positive for a body of mass m above the earths
surface (which is at y = 0). But in this chapter, gravitational
potential energy is U = - Gm E m>r, which is negative for a body
of mass m above the earths surface (which is at r = RE). How can
you reconcile these seemingly incompatible descriptions of gravitational potential energy?
Q13.11 A planet is moving at constant speed in a circular orbit
around a star. In one complete orbit, what is the net amount of
work done on the planet by the stars gravitational force: positive,
negative, or zero? What if the planets orbit is an ellipse, so that the
speed is not constant? Explain your answers.
Q13.12 Does the escape speed for an object at the earths surface
depend on the direction in which it is launched? Explain. Does
your answer depend on whether or not you include the effects of
air resistance?
Q13.13 If a projectile is red straight up from the earths surface,
what would happen if the total mechanical energy (kinetic plus
potential) is (a) less than zero, and (b) greater than zero? In each
case, ignore air resistance and the gravitational effects of the sun,
the moon, and the other planets.
Q13.14 Discuss whether this statement is correct: In the absence
of air resistance, the trajectory of a projectile thrown near the
earths surface is an ellipse, not a parabola.
Q13.15 The earth is closer to the sun in November than in May. In
which of these months does it move faster in its orbit? Explain
why.
Q13.16 A communications rm wants to place a satellite in orbit
so that it is always directly above the earths 45th parallel (latitude
45 north). This means that the plane of the orbit will not pass
through the center of the earth. Is such an orbit possible? Why or
why not?