Lecture 10 – Motion and Gravity, Part 2/2
Summary / Checklist of the Main Concepts to Understand and Remember
Newton's Law of Gravity: Motion of Planets and Other Objects | ||
• | According to Newton's law of gravity, what does the force of gravity between two objects depend on? | |
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According to Newton, how does the force of gravity change if I increase/decrease the masses or the distance between two objects? | |
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If I drop different objects in a place with gravity but no air, which ones will reach the floor faster? | |
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If more massive objects feel a stronger force of gravity, why do they all fall at the same rate when only gravity acts on them? | |
• | How does Newton's law of gravity explain what Kepler said about the motion of planets around the Sun? | |
• | Other objects that follow Kepler's laws because of gravity: Moons, asteroids, binary stars, satellites of galaxies. | |
• | Are there any objects that never feel a force of gravity, according to Newton's theory of gravity? | |
• | In the case of our Moon, to apply Kepler's laws should we use the sidereal month or the lunar/synodic one as its period? | |
• | Is there or isn't there a force of gravity in the International Space Station, as it orbits around the Earth? | |
Newton's Law of Gravity: Other Consequences | ||
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Are the orbits of planets really exact ellipses, as Kepler said? Why or why not? Does the Sun move, as the planets orbit around it? | |
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Tides on Earth: What are tides due to? | |
• | How often do tides rise and fall at a location on Earth? | |
• | What do tides have to do with the fact that some comets break up when they approach a planet? | |
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What do tides have to do with the distorted shapes of galaxies close to each other? | |
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If we know the distance between two astronomical objects and their orbital period, what can we find out about them, and why? |
Topics from the lecture page and textbook not listed above [or between square brackets]
were not covered in class;
Underlined words indicate that I will expect students to remember a number or a name related to that topic.
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