Lesson Plan: The Gravitational Field Inside Planets Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity at a point inside of a planet.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- recall that the acceleration due to gravity, , inside a planet of constant density is proportional to the distance away from the center of the planet, ,
- recall that the acceleration due to gravity at the center of a planet is zero,
- use to find the acceleration due to gravity at a point within a planet of constant density,
- interpret graphs of acceleration due to gravity against radial distance from a planet’s center,
- interpret 3D graphs of acceleration due to gravity against position.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- using ,
- using to find the acceleration due to gravity outside of a planet.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- planets with nonconstant density,
- general relativity or any non-Newtonian gravity,
- summing gravitational forces,
- integration or gravitational flux.
