Essential Cosmic Perspective
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780135795033
Author: Bennett
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 4, Problem 37EAP
Testing Gravity. Scientists are constantly trying to learn whether our current understanding of gravity is complete or must be modified. Describe how the observed motion of spacecraft headed out of the solar system (such as the Voyager spacecraft) can be used to test the accuracy of our current theory of gravity.
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Students have asked these similar questions
The Universal Law of Gravitation
a. How does halving the distance between two objects affect the gravitational force between them?
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c. How long would the Earth year last in this last case? (hint: Newton’s version of Kepler’s 3rd Law)
a. What is a repeat ground-track orbit?
b. Explain why repeat ground-track and Sun-synchronous orbits are typically used for Earth observation missions.
=
c. The constraint for a Sun-synchronous and repeat ground-track orbit is given by T 86, 400, where T is the orbital period in seconds, m the
number of days and k the number of revolutions. Explain why this is, in fact, a constraint on the semi-major axis of the orbit.
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After completing this Lecture Tutorial, students should be able to:
distinguish between scientific hypotheses and nonscientific ideas.
Part 1: Comprehension of Hypotheses
A scientific hypothesis needs to (1) be supported by the majority of current data and (2) be
testable. An alien on Earth is wondering why a rubber ball falls back down to the ground
after it is thrown into the air. It comes up with several ideas about the ball.
a. Gravity is pulling the ball to the ground.
b.
A mystical force that cannot be measured is pushing the ball down.
c.
Earth's magnetic field is pulling on the rubber ball.
1. Which statement is NOT a hypothesis because it is not testable? a b c
2. Which statement is NOT a hypothesis because it is not supported by current data? a b c
3. Which statement IS a scientific hypothesis? a b c
Part 2: Application to Dinosaur Extinction
Below are possible scenarios explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs.
a. Dinosaurs were killed off by a virus.
b. A large meteorite…
Chapter 4 Solutions
Essential Cosmic Perspective
Ch. 4 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 4 - Check your understanding of some of the many types...Ch. 4 - Check your understanding of some of the many types...Ch. 4 - Check your understanding of some of the many types...Ch. 4 - Check your understanding of some of the many types...Ch. 4 - Define speed, velocity, and acceleration. What are...Ch. 4 - Define momentum and force. What do we mean when we...Ch. 4 - What is free-fall, and why does it make you...Ch. 4 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 5EAP
Ch. 4 - Define kinetic energy, radiative energy, and...Ch. 4 - Define and distinguish temperature and thermal...Ch. 4 - Prob. 8EAPCh. 4 - Summarize the universal law of gravitation both in...Ch. 4 - What is the difference between a bound and an...Ch. 4 - Under what conditions can we use Newton’s version...Ch. 4 - Explain why orbits cannot change spontaneously,...Ch. 4 - Explain how the Moon creates tides on Earth. Why...Ch. 4 - How do the tides vary with the phase of the Moon?...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is...Ch. 4 - A car is accelerating when it is (a) traveling on...Ch. 4 - Compared to their values on Earth, on another...Ch. 4 - Which person is weightless? (a) a child in the air...Ch. 4 - Consider the statement “There’s no gravity in...Ch. 4 - To make a rocket turn left, you need to (a) fire...Ch. 4 - Compared to its angular momentum when it is...Ch. 4 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 4 - If Earth were twice as far from the Sun, the force...Ch. 4 - According to the law of universal gravitation,...Ch. 4 - If the Moon were closer to Earth, high tides would...Ch. 4 - Prob. 35EAPCh. 4 - Testing Gravity. Scientists are constantly trying...Ch. 4 - How Does the Table Know? Thinking deeply about...Ch. 4 - Perpetual Motion Machines. Every so often, someone...Ch. 4 - Group Activity: Your Ultimate Energy Source. Work...Ch. 4 - Weightlessness. Astronauts are weightless when in...Ch. 4 - Einstein’s Famous Formula. a. What is the meaning...Ch. 4 - The Gravitational Law. a. How does quadrupling the...Ch. 4 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 4 - Head to Foot Tides. You and Earth attract each...Ch. 4 - Space Elevator. Some people have proposed using a...Ch. 4 - Prob. 47EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 49EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 50EAP
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- If two planets have the same radius and one has a greater density (and hence a greater mass) than the other, then compared to the first planet the more massive planet a. a greater surface gravity b.the same surface gravity c. less surface gravity d. more information on the details of the planets are needed to answer this questionarrow_forwardThe Cavendish experiment marked a milestone in the study of gravity. Part A. What important value did the experiment determine? Part B. Why was this so difficult in terms of the masses use in the apparatus and the strength of the gravitational force?arrow_forwardObj 4.06 - Explain orbits using Newton’s Laws. Obj 4.07 - Explain orbits using Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. 1. The Indian Space Research Organisation (IRSO) recently launched Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite into orbit around Earth. The purpose of Amazonia-1 is to orbit geosynchronously over the Amazon rainforest to monitor and study the effects of deforestation on the climate. Explain how IRSO was able to get Amazonia-1 to orbit Earth using the language of Newton’s Laws. 2. Explain how IRSO was able to get Amazonia-1 to orbit Earth using the language of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.arrow_forward
- Include appropriate units in your final answer. Round off your final answer to two decimal places. Box your final answer. Follow the given formulas 2. An electric fan is rotating at a constant 72,000 meters per hour, making one complete rotation in 0.17 seconds. (a) What is the magnitude of the speed of the bug sitting on one of fan's blades? (b) What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the bug sitting on one of fan's blades?arrow_forwardNewton's Law of Gravitation 2. The magnitude of the acceleration of an object under the pull of Earth's gravity is given by Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation МЕ a = G R? where G is the universal gravitational constant, ME is the mass of Earth, and R is the distance of the object from the center of Earth. Let x be the distance above Earth's surface. We can rewrite the formula for the acceleration as a function of x by noting that R = Rp + x, where Rp is the radius of Earth. Therefore, МЕ a(x) = G- (RE + x)2 d. (a) Show that dx 1 1 (1 – x)* - x. (b) Use the above fact, along with the power series of 1 to determine a power 1- x 1 series for (1+x)²* (c) What is the radius of convergence for the series in part (b)? (Hint: You do not need to calculate anything. What is the radius of convergence for the power series of 1 does not change the radius of convergence.) -? This series has the same radius of convergence since taking a derivativearrow_forwardDescribe your approach to calculation of the gravitational field strength on a planet with a given size (e.g. diameter) and known escape velocity. a. Use Newton's law of universal gravitation. b. Use Newton's 3rd law. c. Use Newton's 1st law. d. Use law of conservation of energy. e. Use Newton's 2nd law.arrow_forward
- 2. What effect does an excess of gravitational pull have on our bodies? 3. Extremely low gravity causes a planet to have a minimal atmosphere and sometimes not even one. Explain why? 4. The explanation for the most and least comfortable planet to live on are the following: 5. Which one is the planet with the strongest gravitational surface pull and why? 6. Which one is the planet with the weakest gravitational surface pull and why?arrow_forwardWhich of the following statements could be considered scientific statements ? 1. There is water on the surface of Mars. 2. The universe contains atoms we will never detect. It is wrong to cheat. O A. C. 1 2, and 3 are all scientific B. None of the statements is scientific OC.A. Only 1 is scientific () D. B. 1 and 2 are scientificarrow_forwardEvery object is surrounded by a gravitational field.a) The unit of gravitational field strength 'g' is newton per kilogram. Explain how the unitof gravitational field strength relates to the acceleration. b) How does g vary with distance? How does it vary with the object’s mass? c) Describe the direction of the gravitational field around a spherical object.arrow_forward
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