6.1.5 Gravitational Effects On Orbits

6.1.
5 Gravitational Effects on Orbits

Gravitational Field Strength
 The strength of gravity on different planets after an object's weight on that planet
 Weight is defined as:
The force acting on an object due to gravitational attraction
 Planets have strong gravitational fields

o Hence, they attract nearby masses with a strong gravitational force
 Because of weight:
o Objects stay firmly on the ground
o Objects will always fall to the ground
o Satellites are kept in orbit
Objects are attracted towards the centre of the Earth due to its gravitational field strength
 Both the weight of any body and the value of the gravitational field strength g differs
between the surface of the Earth and the surface of other bodies in space, including the
Moon because of the planet or moon's mass
o The greater the mass of the planet then the greater its gravitational field strength
o A higher gravitational field strength means a larger attractive force towards the
centre of that planet or moon
 g varies with the distance from a planet, but on the surface of the planet, it is roughly
the same
o The strength of the field around the planet decreases as the distance from the
planet increases
 However, the value of g on the surface varies dramatically for different planets and
moons
 The gravitational field strength (g) on the Earth is approximately 10 N/kg
 The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Moon is less than on the Earth
o This means it would be easier to lift a mass on the surface of the Moon than on
the Earth
 The gravitational field strength on the surface of the gas giants (eg. Jupiter and Saturn)
is more than on the Earth
o This means it would be harder to lift a mass on the gas giants than on the Earth
Value for g on the different objects in the Solar System
 On such planets such as Jupiter, an object’s mass remains the same at all points in space
 However, their weight will be a lot greater meaning for example, a human will be unable
to fully stand up
A person’s weight on Jupiter would be so large a human would be unable to fully stand up
Exam Tip
You do not need to remember the value of g on different planets for your exam, the value
of g for Earth will be given in the exam question.
Gravitational Attraction of the Sun
 There are many orbiting objects in our solar system and they each orbit a different type of
planetary body
Orbiting Objects or Bodies in Our Solar System Table
 A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body

o For example, a planet orbiting the Sun
 In order to orbit a body such as a star or a planet, there has to be a force pulling the
object towards that body
o Gravity provides this force
 Therefore, it is said that the force that keeps a planet in orbit around the Sun is
the gravitational attraction of the Sun
 The gravitational force exerted by the larger body on the orbiting object is always
attractive
o Therefore, the gravitational force always acts towards the centre of the larger
body
 Therefore, the force that keeps an object in orbit around the Sun is the gravitational
attraction of the Sun and is always directed from the orbiting object to the centre of the
Sun
 The gravitational force will cause the body to move and maintain in a circular path
Gravitational attraction causes the Moon to orbit around the Earth

Sun's Gravitational Field & Distance
EXTENDED
 As the distance from the Sun increases:
o The strength of the Sun's gravitational field on the planet decreases

o Their orbital speed of the planet decreases
 To keep an object in a circular path, it must have a centripetal force
o For planets orbiting the Sun, this force is gravity
 Therefore, the strength of the Sun's gravitational field in the planet affects how much
centripetal force is on the planet
o This strength decreases the further away the planet is from the Sun, and the
weaker the centripetal force
 The centripetal force is proportional to the orbital speed
o Therefore, the planets further away from the Sun have a smaller orbital speed
o This also equates to a longer orbital duration
How the speed of a planet is affected by its distance from the Sun
 This can be seen from data collected for a planet's orbital distance against their orbital
speed
o E.g. Neptune travels much slower than Mercury
Table of Orbital Distance, Speed and Duration
Orbital distance / Orbital duration / days

Planet Orbital Speed / km/s
million km or years
Mercury 57.9 47.9 88 days

Venus 108.2 35.0 225 days
Earth 149.6 29.8 365 days
Mars 227.9 24.1 687 days
Jupiter 778.6 13.1 11.9 years
Saturn 1433.5 9.7 29.5 years
Uranus 2872.5 6.8 75 years
Neptune 4495.1 5.4 165 years
Exam Tip
Be careful with your wording in this topic when talking about gravity. It is important to refer to
the force of gravity as 'gravitational attraction', ' strength of the Sun's gravitational field' or 'the
force due to gravity'. Avoid terms such as 'the Sun's gravity' or even more vague, 'the force from
the Sun'.
Orbits & Conservation of Energy

EXTENDED
 An object in an elliptical orbit around the Sun travels at a different speed depending on
its distance from the Sun
 Although these orbits are not circular, they are still stable
o For a stable orbit, the radius must change if the comet's orbital speed changes
 As the comet approaches the Sun:
o The radius of the orbit decreases
o The orbital speed increases due to the Sun's strong gravitational pull
 As the comet travels further away from the Sun:
o The radius of the orbit increases
o The orbital speed decreases due to a weaker gravitational pull from the Sun
Comets travel in highly elliptical orbits, speeding up as they approach the Sun
Conservation of Energy
 Although an object in an elliptical orbit, such as a comet, continually changes its speed its
energy must still be conserved
o Throughout the orbit, the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy of the
comet changes
 As the comet approaches the Sun:
o It loses gravitational potential energy and gains kinetic energy
o This causes the comet to speed up
o This increase in speed causes a slingshot effect, and the body will be flung back
out into space again, having passed around the Sun
 As the comment moves away from the Sun:
o It gains gravitational potential energy and loses kinetic energy
o This causes it to slow down
o Eventually, it falls back towards the Sun once more
 In this way, a stable orbit is formed
Exam Tip
Remember that an objects kinetic energy is defined by: mv2 where m is the mass of the
object and v is its speed. Therefore, if the speed of an object increases, so does its kinetic energy.
Its gravitational potential energy therefore must decrease for energy to be conserved.

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6.1.

5 Gravitational Effects on Orbits

The force acting on an object due to gravitational attraction

 Planets have strong gravitational fields

Value for g on the different objects in the Solar System

Orbiting Objects or Bodies in Our Solar System Table

 A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body

Gravitational attraction causes the Moon to orbit around the Earth

 As the distance from the Sun increases:

o The strength of the Sun's gravitational field on the planet decreases

Table of Orbital Distance, Speed and Duration

Orbital distance / Orbital duration / days

Mercury 57.9 47.9 88 days

Orbits & Conservation of Energy

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