Gravitational And Electric Fields Flashcards
Newton’s Laws of Universal Gravitation
Every particle with mass in the universe attracts every other particle with a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centres.
Weigh (Fg)
The gravitational force the Earth exerts on any object on or near its surface.
What is a gravitational field?
A regional in space where a mass will experience a force.
Gravitational Field
The force acting per unit mass.
What is the gravitational field equivalent to?
Acceleration due to gravity (9,8m/s^2)
When calculating acceleration due to gravity using the formula g = G . M/r^2, what do M and r represent respectively?
M is the mass of a planetary body.
r is the distance from its centre.
What is the difference between mass and weight?
Mass is a scalar quantity representing the amount of matter in an object and does not change based on location. It is measured in kilograms.
Weight is a vector quantity representing the gravitational force acting on that mass. It changes with the strength of the gravitational field and is measured in newtons.
Coulomb’s Law
Two point charges exert forces on each other. The force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges.
What is an electric field?
A region of space in which an electric charge experiences a force. The direction of the electric field at a point is the direction that a positive test charge would move if placed at that point.
Electric Field
The force per unit positive charge.
What is the difference between Q and q in relation to charge?
Q represents the charge responsible for the electric field.
q represents the charge experiencing the electric field.
