Gravitational Field of a Point Mass
 

Gravitational Field of a Point Mass problem 14


An isolated planet is a uniform sphere of radius . Its mass of may be considered to be a point mass concentrated at its centre. The planet rotates about its axis with a period of . For an object resting on the surface of the planet at the equator, calculate, to three significant figures:


  • the gravitational field strength


  • the centripetal acceleration


  • the force per unit mass exerted on the object by the surface of the planet


 

main author and content editor: Ebenezer Adekunle