Deck 17: Measuring a Bodys Mass Using Orbital Motion

Question 1

Centripetal force applies to a body ___.

A) in circular motion
B) in linear motion
C) in gravitation of the Earth only
D) sitting still

Answer 1

in circular motion

Question 2

To find the centripetal force equation, we must _____ the velocity.

A) cube
B) divide
C) square
D) not use

Answer 2

square

Question 3

Using the centripetal acceleration equation and knowing the velocity and radius we can find the
_____.

A) mass of the body being orbited
B) mass of body that is orbiting the object
C) radius of other body
D) acceleration of other body

Answer 3

mass of the body being orbited

Question 4

The sum of the masses of the Sun and Jupiter is equal to

A) the square of Jupiter's average distance from the Sun in AU divided by the cube of Jupiter's period in years.
B) the cube of Jupiter's average distance from the Sun in AU divided by the square of Jupiter's period in years.
C) the square of Jupiter's period in years divided by the cube of Jupiter's average distance from the Sun in AU.
D) the cube of Jupiter's period in years divided by the square of Jupiter's average distance from the Sun in AU.

Question 5

To determine the mass of an object you need to know _____ and _____ from the other body you orbit.

Question 6

We can find the mass of a star if we know the __________ and ___________ speed of a planet's orbit around the star.

Question 7

A centripetal force on an object moving in a circle always points toward the center of the circle.

Question 8

We can use Newton's version of Kepler's 3rd law to measure the masses of stars.