NEET2003PhysicsGravitationActual
The velocity with which a projectile must be fired so that it escapes earth's gravitation does not depend on
Options
- Amass of the earth
- Bmass of the projectile
- Cradius of the projectile's orbit
- Dgravitational constant.
Correct answer
B. mass of the projectile
Step-by-step solution
For a projectile to leave the gravitational field of the earth, its kinetic energy would be at least equal to its potential energy. That is 1 2 m v_e^2=G M m R v_e= 2 G M R where G is the universal gravitational constant, M is the mass of the earth and R is the radius of the earth. Hence the escape velocity of a projectile is independent of its own mass.