U3AOS2 Topic 2: Gravitational Forces

The gravitational force equation shows the force on a mass from each object’s gravitational fields. (Note: this is an action reaction force)

$F = G\frac{M_1M_2}{r^2}$

Use the simulation below to check your calculations and see the effects of changing variables.

Created with GeoGebra®, by Barb Newitt, Link



The only graph for this section is the Force vs Distance graph which are non-uniform. We have seen in the Work chapter that W = Fs. In this case it is the same thing. Therefore to find GPE we just use the area under the graph. Below is a simplified example.

$W = Fs = area under graph$

To find the area you can count the number of squares that are mostly under the graph. Since here the squares are cut in half you can count every other square. However the next example is more complex than the current one. 

You may need to click the graph and zoom out to see it.

$\mathrm{\Delta }=areaundergrap\mathrm{<br>}$

Created with GeoGebra®, by Patrick Dougherty, Link