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2 marksConservation of Energy

CAPE Physics Unit 1 · 2015 · Paper 2 · Question 1(b)(ii)

Mars is considered an isolated sphere with a diameter of 6.79 × 10^6 m and a mass of 6.42 × 10^23 kg concentrated at its center. A rock of mass 1.40 kg rests on the surface of Mars. Assume the rock's dimensions are negligible compared to Mars' radius.

Show that the gravitational potential energy of the rock is -1.77 × 10^7 J.

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Other parts of this question

  1. 1(a)State, in words, Newton's law of universal gravitation.[2 marks]
  2. 1(b)(i)Determine the weight of the rock on Mars.[3 marks]
  3. 1(c)(i)On the grid provided in Figure 1 (page 5), plot a graph of weight (W) versus 1/R^2 to reflect this variation.[4 marks]
  4. 1(c)(ii)Find the gradient of the graph and hence determine the mass of the satellite. (Mass of Earth, M_E = 5.6 × 10^24 kg)[4 marks]

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