Very Short Answer Type Question

Q.1. What is the celestial sphere?

Ans. The huge hemispherical surface of sky in which stars and planets etc. appear to be struck
is called celestial sphere.
Q.2. What is constellation?
Ans. The groups of stars resembling the shapes of animals, common daily use objects, figures
etc. are called constellations, e.g., hunter, great bear, small dipper etc.
Q.3 .What is parallax?
Ans. The relative motion of bodies with reference to the far off bodies rest in the background is
called parallax.
Q.4. What was Nicolas Copernicus theory of planetary motion?
Ans. He stated that all the planets moved in perfect circles around the sum. His theory
supported heliocentric model.
Q.5. What is latitude at a place?
Ans. It is the angle (λ) formed by the line joining the place on the surface of the earth and the
centre of the earth with the equatorial plane.
Q.6. Why is G called universal constant?
Ans. G is called a universal constant because its value is same everywhere.
Q.7. Why Newton’s law of gravitation is said to be universal law?
Ans. It is called so because this law hold good irrespective of the nature of interacting bodies at
all places and at all times.
Q.8. Why does a rubber ball bounce higher on hills than in plains?
Ans. Acceleration due to gravity decreases with height so on hills g is less than plains. The ball
bounces higher on hills because of this reason.
Q.9. Who abandoned the Copernicus view of circular orbits?
Ans. Johannes Kepler abandoned the view of circular orbits. He said that planets follow
elliptical orbits.
Q.10. What is the variation in g at pole when earth is at rest or rotating?
Ans. It will remain unchanged.
Q.11. Complete variation in g at pole and equator due to rotation of earth?
Ans. Value of g is maximum at pole whereas minimum at equator. Effect of rotation of earth on
g is almost nil on poles and maximum at equator.
Q.12. Does the force of friction and other contact force arise due to gravitational
attraction? If not what is the origin of these forces?
Ans. No, the contact forces have electrical origin.
Q.13. A comet move faster at aphelion or perihelion?
Ans. At the perihelion where it is close to sun, the comet moves in faster speed.
Q.14. Name one factor on which the period of revolution of planet around the sun
depends?
Ans. Mean distance of the planet from the sun.
Q.15. Does the gravitational force between two particles depends upon the medium
between the two particles.
Ans. No, it does not depend upon the medium between the two particles.
Q.16. How does earth retains most of the atmosphere?
Ans. Due to force of gravity.
Q.17. Mention one difference between g and G.
Ans. The value of ‘G’ remains the same throughout the universe while the value of ‘g’ varies
from place to place.
Q.18. What is the orbital velocity of a geostationary satellite?
Ans. About 3.08 km s-1.
Q.19. What is the formula for escape velocity in terms of g and R?

Ans. 𝑣𝑒 = √2𝑔𝑅.

Q.20. What is the orbital period of revolution of an artificial satellite revolving in a

geostationary orbit?
Ans. It is 24 hours.
Q.21. What is the full form of the geostationary satellite APPLE?
Ans. Full form of APPLE is Ariane Passenger Pay Load Experiment.
Q.22. What is the relation between orbital and escape velocity?

Ans. 𝑣𝑒 = √2𝑣𝑜 .
Q.23. Potential energy of a galaxy is taken as positive or negative.
Ans. Galaxy has gravitational force which are attractive so potential energy of a galaxy is taken
as negative.
Q.24. Why the orbiting satellite and the planet are called bound system?
Ans. Total energy of the orbiting satellite and the planet is negative, i.e., attractive so the
system of the planet and the orbiting satellite is called bound system.
Q.25. Where does a body weight more at the surface of earth or in a mine?
Ans. At the surface of earth, a body weighs more.
Q.26. How much energy is required by a satellite to keep it orbiting? Neglect air
resistance, why?
Ans. No energy is required by a satellite to keep it orbiting. This is because the work done by
the centripetal force is zero.
Q.27. Name the natural satellite of earth.
Ans. Moon.
Q.28. Why a multi-stage rocket is required to launch a satellite?
Ans. This is done to save fuel.
Q.29. How do we choose zero level of gravitational potential energy?
Ans. It corresponds to the infinite separation between two interacting masses.
Q.30. If the earth is regarded as a hollow sphere, then what is the weight of an object
below the surface of earth?
Ans. Zero.
Q.31. The orbital velocity of the stationary satellite of earth is nearly…
Ans. 30 kms-1.
Q.32. Which is greater out of the following :
(i) The attraction of earth of 5 kg of copper?
(ii) The attraction of 5 kg copper for earth?
Ans. Same.
Q.33. Where does a body weight more at the pole or at the equator?
Ans. It weighs more at the pole.
Q.34. The weight of a body is 20 N. what is the gravitational pull of the body on the earth?
Ans.20 N.
Q.35. Can we determine the mass of a satellite by measuring its time period?
Ans. No.
Q.36. Is it possible to put a satellite into an orbit by firing it from a huge canon?
Ans. This can be possible only if we can ignore air friction and technical difficulties.
Q.37. Two satellites are at different heights. Which would have greater orbital velocity?
Why?
1
Ans. the satellite at the smaller height would have greater velocity. This is because 𝑣0 ∝
√𝑟

Q.38. At noon the attractions of the earth and sun on a body on the surface of earth are in
opposite directions. But at mid night they are in the same direction. Does a body weight
more at mid night?
Ans. No, the weight of the body is only due to the earth’s gravity.
Q.39. What velocity will you give to a donkey and what velocity to a monkey so that both
escape the gravitational field to earth?
Ans. We will give then the same velocity as escape velocity is independent of the mass of the
body.
Q.40. Where will the true weight of the body be zero?
Ans. The true weight of a body will be zero where the gravitational effects are nil, e.g., at the
centre of earth.
Q.41. If earth will be at one half its present distance from the sun, how many days will
there be in a year?
Ans. 129 days.
Q.42.The escape velocity on earth is 11.2 km s-1. What is its value for a planet having
double the radius and 8 times the mass of the earth?
Ans. 22.4 kms-1.
Q.43. A body has a mass of 10 kg. Find the distance of zero intensity of gravitational
field.
1
Ans. 1∝𝑟

∴ For I = 0,

or 𝑟=∞
Thus, intensity of gravitational field is zero at infinity.
Q.44. Give an expression for gravitational potential at the surface of earth.
𝐺𝑀
Ans. Using V=− 𝑟

When r = R, i.e., radius of earth

𝐺𝑀
We have V=−
𝑅

Q.45. Give relation between gravitational potential and potential energy.

Ans. Gravitational potential energy = Gravitational potential × mass
i.e., U=V×𝑚
Q.46. Does a rocket really need the escape velocity of 11.2 km/s initially to escape from
the earth?
Ans. No, a rocket can have any initial velocity at the start but its velocity should continue to
increase. It will escape from the earth only if its velocity becomes 11.2 km/s.
Q.47. On earth, value of G = 6.67 × 10-11 Nm2 kg-2. What is its value of moon, where ‘g’ is
nearly one-sixth than that of the earth?
Ans. Its value remains same as 6.67 × 10 -11 Nm2 kg-2 as its universal constant and it does not
depend on value of g.
Q.48. An artificial satellite is at a height of 36,500 km above earth’s surface. What is the
work by earth’s gravitational force in keeping it in its orbit?
Ans. No energy is required by a satellite to keep it orbiting because the work done by the
centripetal force is zero.
Q.49. Molecules in air in the atmosphere are attracted by gravitational force of the earth.
Explain why all of them do not fall into earth just like an apple falling from a tree.
Ans. Air molecules in the atmosphere experience the vertically downward force due to gravity
just like an apple falling from a tree. Due to thermal motion, air molecules move randomly, their
velocity is not in the vertical direction. The downward force gravity causes the density of air in
the atmosphere close to earth higher than the density as we go up. But in apple’s case, only
vertical motion dominates because of heavier molecules than air molecules.
Q.50. Give on example each central force and non-central force.
Ans. Examples of
Central force: gravitational force of a point mass, electrostatic force due to a point change.
Example of
Non-central force: spin-dependent nuclear forces, magnitude force between two current
carrying loops.
Q.51. Draw area velocity versus time graph for mars.
Ans. The graph between areal velocity and time is a straight line parallel to time axis because
areal velocity of a planet revolving around the sun is constant with time. (Kepler’s second law).

Q.52. What is the direction of areal velocity of the earth around the sun?
Ans. Area velocity of earth around the sun is –
𝑑𝐴 𝐿
𝑑𝑡
= 2𝑚

[L = angular momentum, m = mass of earth]

But angular momentum, L = 𝑟⃗ × 𝑝⃗
= 𝑟⃗ × 𝑚𝑣⃗
𝑑𝐴 1
/ Areal velocity, ( ) = (𝑟⃗ × 𝑚𝑣⃗)
𝑑𝑡 2𝑚
1
= 2 (𝑟⃗ × 𝑣⃗)

Therefore, the direction of (𝑟⃗ × 𝑣⃗) areal velocity is in direction of i.e. perpendicular to the plane
of 𝑟⃗ and 𝑣⃗ (as by Maxwell’s right hand grip rule).
Q.53. How is the gravitational force between two point masses affected when they are
dipped in water keeping the separation between them the same?
Ans. By Universal law of gravitation,
𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
F= 𝑟2

The force acting between two point masses 𝑚1 and 𝑚2 , is independent of the nature of medium
between them. Therefore, Gravitational force acting between two masses will remain unaffected
when they are dipped in water.
Q.54. Is it possible for a body to have inertia but no weight?
Ans. Yes, because weight (mg) of a body can be zero as it depend upon acceleration due to
gravity but everybody will always have inertia (i.e., mass)

For example: At O, g = 0, at the centre of the earth.

Q.55. We can shield a charge from electric fields by putting it inside a hollow conductor.
Can we shield a body from the gravitational influence of nearby matter by putting it
inside a hollow sphere or by some other means?
Ans. No, because gravitational force between two point mass bodies is independent of the
intervening medium between them.
Q.56. An astronaut inside a small spaceship orbiting around the earth cannot detect
gravity. If the space station orbiting around the earth has a large size, can he hope to
detect gravity?
Ans. The value of acceleration due to gravity, g can be considered as constant inside small
spaceship orbiting around the earth, so astronaut feels weightlessness.
If space station orbiting around has a large size, the variation in g matters and astronaut will
experience gravitational force, hence he can detect gravity. On moon, due larger size, gravity
can be detected.
Q.57. The gravitational force between a hollow spherical shell (of radius R and uniform
density and a point mass is F. show the nature of FVs r graph where r is the distance of
the pointe from the centre of the hollow spherical shell of uniform density.
Ans. Gravitational force is F.
Let us consider the diagram, shell’s density is constant and it is ρ
As density of shell is uniform and it can be treated as point mass.

4
Mass, M(Shell) = ρ × 𝜋R3
3

Gravitational force between M & m,

𝐺𝑀𝑚
F= r2

But force inside the shell is zero.

F = 0 for r < R
𝐺𝑀
= r2
for r ≥ R

Variation of F versus r.

Q.58. Out of aphelion and perihelion, where is the speed of the earth more and why?

Ans. Areal velocity of earth around the sun is constant from Kepler’s II law, so the speed of the
earth is more at perihelion than at the aphelion. The earth has to cover greater linear distance to
keep the areal velocity constant, at aphelion.
Q.59. What is the angle between the equatorial plane and the orbital plane of
(a) Polar satellite?
(b) Geostationary satellite?

Ans. (a) Angle between equatorial plane and orbital plane is 90 o.

(b) Angle between equatorial and orbital plane is 0o.