Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
The centre of mass of an extended body on the surface of the earth and its centre of gravity ______.
- are always at the same point for any size of the body.
- are always at the same point only for spherical bodies.
- can never be at the same point.
- is close to each other for objects, say of sizes less than 100 m.
- both can change if the object is taken deep inside the earth.
Advertisements
Solution
d
Explanation:
The center of gravity is based on weight, whereas the center of mass is based on mass. So, when the gravitational field across an object is uniform, the two are identical. However, when the object enters a spatially-varying gravitational field, the COG will move closer to regions of the object in a stronger field, whereas the COM is unmoved.
More practically, the COG is the point over which the object can be perfectly balanced; the net torque due to gravity about that point is zero. In contrast, the COM is the average location of the mass distribution or it is the point where the whole mass of the body is supposed to be concentrated. If the object were given some angular momentum, it would spin about the COM.
For small objects, say of sizes less than 100 m placed in the uniform gravitational field the centre of mass is very close to the centre of gravity of the body. But when the size of object increases, its weight changes and its CM and CG become far from each other. Like in the case of spherical balls, the CM and the CG are the same, but in case of Mount Everest, its CM lies a bit above its CG.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
A Saturn year is 29.5 times the earth year. How far is the Saturn from the sun if the earth is 1.50 ×108 km away from the sun?
Identify the law shown in the figure and state three respective laws.

In the Following figure shows the elliptical path of a planet about the sun. The two shaded parts have equal area. If t1 and t2 be the time taken by the planet to go from a to b and from c to d respectively,

Answer the following question.
State Kepler’s law of the period.
The square of its period of revolution around the sun is directly proportional to the _______ of the mean distance of a planet from the sun.
Observe the given figure and answer these following questions.

The orbit of a planet moving around the Sun
- What is the conclusion about the orbit of a planet?
- What is the relation between velocity of planet and distance from sun?
- Explain the relation between areas ASB, CSD and ESF.
The third law of Kepler is also known as the Law of ______.
State Kepler’s laws.
If the distance between the sun and the earth is made three times, then attraction between the two will ______
Both earth and moon are subject to the gravitational force of the sun. As observed from the sun, the orbit of the moon ______.
If the sun and the planets carried huge amounts of opposite charges ______.
- all three of Kepler’s laws would still be valid.
- only the third law will be valid.
- the second law will not change.
- the first law will still be valid.
Out of aphelion and perihelion, where is the speed of the earth more and why?
A satellite is in an elliptic orbit around the earth with aphelion of 6R and perihelion of 2 R where R= 6400 km is the radius of the earth. Find eccentricity of the orbit. Find the velocity of the satellite at apogee and perigee. What should be done if this satellite has to be transferred to a circular orbit of radius 6R ?
[G = 6.67 × 10–11 SI units and M = 6 × 1024 kg]
The maximum and minimum distances of a comet from the Sun are 1.6 × 1012 m and 8.0 × 1010 m respectively. If the speed of the comet at the nearest point is 6 × 104 ms-1, the speed at the farthest point is ______.
A planet revolving in an elliptical orbit has:
- a constant velocity of revolution.
- has the least velocity when it is nearest to the sun.
- its areal velocity is directly proportional to its velocity.
- areal velocity is inversely proportional to its velocity.
- to follow a trajectory such that the areal velocity is constant.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
lf the angular momentum of a planet of mass m, moving around the Sun in a circular orbit is L, about the center of the Sun, and its areal velocity is ______.
Two planets A and B of equal mass are having their period of revolutions TA and TB such that TA = 2TB. These planets are revolving in the circular orbits of radii rA and rB respectively. Which out of the following would be the correct relationship of their orbits?
