Gravitation

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Concept Map

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Additional Resources

Reference books

1. Conceptual Physics, Paul Hewitt, 10th Edition
2. Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Douglas C. Giancoli, 3rd Edition
3. Resnick & Halliday with Jearl Walker, 8th Edition
4. NCERT Class 9 textbook Motion
5. NCERT Class 9 textbook Laws of Motion
6. NCERT Class 9 textbook Gravitation

Additional web resources

1. 
   This is a college lecture by Prof Walter Levin explaining gravitation. Click here to see the video.
   
   
   
   
2. Illustrations and videos to accompany the textbook Conceptual Physics
3. Physics Classroom

Teaching Outlines

Notes for teachers

These are short notes that the teacher wants to share about the concept, any locally relevant information, specific instructions on what kind of methodology used and common misconceptions/mistakes.

1. Forces can act at a distance and are called non-contact forces. To understand gravitation, we need to understand inertial and gravitational properties of mass. Gravity is one of the four fundamental forces. This document further discusses the concept of acceleration due to gravity and gravitational potential energy. Gravity is responsible for planetary motion and introduces the Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
2. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the cause due to which masses fall to the ground. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, and coalesced matter to remain intact, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the Sun, and most of the macroscopic objects in the universe. Gravitation is responsible for keeping the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun; for keeping the Moon in its orbit around the Earth; for the formation of tides; for natural convection, by which fluid flow occurs under the influence of a density gradient and gravity; for heating the interiors of forming stars and planets to very high temperatures; and for various other phenomena observed on Earth and the Universe. These are some of the questions we will explore here.
3. Gravitational force acts over a distance through a field and is one of the four fundamental forces. Gravitational force is a very small force. Idea of a force field and that forces can act at a distance. The distance over which the effect of a force can be felt is called its field. Gravitation explains several phenomena
   1. the force that allows us to move on Earth
   2. the motion of the moon around the Earth
   3. the motion of the planets around the Sun
   4. the tides due to the moon and the sun

Concept #1 - Contact and Non-Contact Forces

Learning objectives

1. Forces can act in contact
2. Forces can act over a distance

Activities

1. Activity 1 - The various forces we see
2. Activity 2 - More about contact forces
3. Activity 3 - Understanding mass
4. Activity 4 - Understanding forces acting at a distance

Concept #2 - Gravitation is a field force

Learning objectives

1. Gravitational force acts at a distance - this force is due to the gravitational property of mass
2. Weight is due to force called gravity

Activities

1. Activity 5 - See Gravity in Action
2. Activity 6 - Introducing the idea of weight

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