EP COSMIC PERSPECTIVE-MOD.MASTERING
9th Edition
ISBN: 9780137453481
Author: Bennett
Publisher: SAVVAS L
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Chapter 4, Problem 37EAP
Testing Gravity. Scientists are continually trying to learn whether our current understanding of gravity is complete or must be modified. Describe how the observed motion of spacecraft headed out of our solar system (such as the Voyager spacecraft) can be used to test the accuracy of our current theory of gravity.
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After completing this Lecture Tutorial, students should be able to:
distinguish between scientific hypotheses and nonscientific ideas.
Part 1: Comprehension of Hypotheses
A scientific hypothesis needs to (1) be supported by the majority of current data and (2) be
testable. An alien on Earth is wondering why a rubber ball falls back down to the ground
after it is thrown into the air. It comes up with several ideas about the ball.
a. Gravity is pulling the ball to the ground.
b.
A mystical force that cannot be measured is pushing the ball down.
c.
Earth's magnetic field is pulling on the rubber ball.
1. Which statement is NOT a hypothesis because it is not testable? a b c
2. Which statement is NOT a hypothesis because it is not supported by current data? a b c
3. Which statement IS a scientific hypothesis? a b c
Part 2: Application to Dinosaur Extinction
Below are possible scenarios explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs.
a. Dinosaurs were killed off by a virus.
b. A large meteorite…
The Universal Law of Gravitation
a. How does halving the distance between two objects affect the gravitational force between them?
b. Suppose the Sun was somehow replaced by a star with five times as much mass. What would happen to the gravitational force between the Earth and the Sun?
c. How long would the Earth year last in this last case? (hint: Newton’s version of Kepler’s 3rd Law)
a. What is a repeat ground-track orbit?
b. Explain why repeat ground-track and Sun-synchronous orbits are typically used for Earth observation missions.
=
c. The constraint for a Sun-synchronous and repeat ground-track orbit is given by T 86, 400, where T is the orbital period in seconds, m the
number of days and k the number of revolutions. Explain why this is, in fact, a constraint on the semi-major axis of the orbit.
m
Chapter 4 Solutions
EP COSMIC PERSPECTIVE-MOD.MASTERING
Ch. 4 - Prob. 1VSCCh. 4 - Use the following questions to check your...Ch. 4 - Use the following questions to check your...Ch. 4 - Use the following questions to check your...Ch. 4 - Use the following questions to check your...Ch. 4 - Define speed, velocity, and acceleration. What are...Ch. 4 - Define momentum and force. What do we mean when we...Ch. 4 - What is free-fall, and why does it make you...Ch. 4 - Prob. 4EAPCh. 4 - Describe the laws of conservation of momentum, of...
Ch. 4 - Define kinetic energy, radiative energy, and...Ch. 4 - Define temperature and thermal energy. How are...Ch. 4 - Prob. 8EAPCh. 4 - 9. Summarize the universal law of gravitation both...Ch. 4 - 10. What is the difference between a bound and an...Ch. 4 - What do we need to know if we want to measure an...Ch. 4 - Explain why orbits cannot change spontaneously,...Ch. 4 - Explain how the Moon creates tides on Earth. Why...Ch. 4 - What is tidal friction? What effects does it have...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Prob. 19EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 20EAPCh. 4 - Does It Make Sense? Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Does It Make Sense?
Decide whether the statement...Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Prob. 30EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 31EAPCh. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 4 - Prob. 35EAPCh. 4 - Testing Gravity. Scientists are continually trying...Ch. 4 - Prob. 38EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 39EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 40EAPCh. 4 - Weightlessness. Astronauts are weightless when in...Ch. 4 - Units of Acceleration. If you drop a rock from a...Ch. 4 - Gravitational Potential Energy. For each of the...Ch. 4 - Prob. 44EAPCh. 4 - The Gravitational Law. How does quadrupling the...Ch. 4 - Allowable Orbits? Suppose the Sun were replaced by...Ch. 4 - Head-to-Foot Tides. You and Earth attract each...Ch. 4 - Prob. 48EAPCh. 4 - Geostationary Orbit. A satellite in geostationary...Ch. 4 - Prob. 51EAPCh. 4 - Prob. 52EAPCh. 4 - Moving Candy Bar. Table 4.1 shows that...Ch. 4 - Spontaneous Human Combustion. Suppose that all the...Ch. 4 - Fusion Power. No one has yet succeeded in creating...Ch. 4 - Understanding Newton’s Version of Kepler’s Third...Ch. 4 - Using Newton’s Version of Kepler’s Third Law....Ch. 4 - Escape Velocity. Calculate the escape velocity...Ch. 4 - Weights on Other Worlds. Calculate the...Ch. 4 - Prob. 60EAPCh. 4 - Extra Moon. Suppose Earth had a second moon,...
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- Describe your approach to calculation of the gravitational field strength on a planet with a given size (e.g. diameter) and known escape velocity. a. Use Newton's law of universal gravitation. b. Use Newton's 3rd law. c. Use Newton's 1st law. d. Use law of conservation of energy. e. Use Newton's 2nd law.arrow_forwardFor the following questions, start your analyses by considering at least Newton's Law of Gravitation, centripetal acceleration, Kepler's law or Energy Conservation. Take the Gravitational constant to be a. From Earth we can measure the radius of Mars using our telescopes. An estimate for it is 3.39 x 106 m. By sending an exploratory robot to Mars, we determined the acceleration due to gravity on its surface as 3.73 m/s?. Estimate the mass of Mars. b. The Earth revolves around the Sun once a year at a distance of 1.50 x 1011 m. Estimate the mass of the Sun. c. A rocket is launched straight up from Earth's surface at 2100 m/s. By ignoring air resistance, determine the maximum height it reaches?arrow_forward2. DETERMINING GRAVITATIONAL ACCELERATION: In this step, we will determine Earth's gravitational acceleration using free-fall data. We also wish to gain some appreciation for why measuring gravitational acceleration is difficult. 2.1. One way to measure gravitational acceleration is to simply drop an object and measure its time of flight, i.e. the time it is in air before landing. Suppose you drop an object from height h = 2 m. To minimize the effect of drag (air resistance), suppose the object is aerodynamic in shape, and has a small cross-sectional area but a large mass. Under these conditions, drag will be negligible. You will measure the time of flight using a stopwatch. 2.1.1. Suppose you measure the time of flight to be 0.639 s. Use the kinematic equations to calculate g: What is the percent difference between this value and the expected value of 9.8 m/s²? 2.1.2. Suppose you repeat the measurement to verify your results. When you repeat the measurement, you find the time of…arrow_forward
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