Please refer to Chapter 8 Gravitation MCQ Class 11 Physics with answers below. These multiple-choice questions have been prepared based on the latest NCERT book for Class 11 Physics. Students should refer to MCQ Questions for Class 11 Physics with Answers to score more marks in Grade 11 Physics exams. Students should read the chapter Gravitation and then attempt the following objective questions.

MCQ Questions Class 11 Physics Chapter 8 Gravitation

The Gravitation MCQ Class 11 Physics provided below covers all important topics given in this chapter. These MCQs will help you to properly prepare for exams.

Question. A planet moving along an elliptical orbit is closest to the sun at a distance r₁ and farthest away at a distance of r₂. If v₁ and v₂ are the linear velocities at these points respectively, then the ratio V₁/V₂ is
(a) (r₁/r₂)²
(b) r₂/r₁
(c) (r₂/r₁)²
(d) r₁/r₂

Question. A planet is moving in an elliptical orbit around the sun. If T, V, E and L stand respectively for its kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, total energy and magnitude of angular momentum about the centre of force, which of the following is correct ?
(a) T is conserved.
(b) V is always positive.
(c) E is always negative.
(d) L is conserved but direction of vector L changes continuously.

Question. The figure shows elliptical orbit of a planet m about the sun S. The shaded area SCD is twice the shaded area SAB. If t1 is the time for the planet to move from C to D and t₂ is the time to move from A to B then

(a) t₁ = 4t₂
(b) t₁ = 2t₂
(c) t₁ = t₂
(d) t₁ > t₂

Question. The period of revolution of planet A around the sun is 8 times that of B. The distance of A from the sun is how many times greater than that of B from the sun?
(a) 4
(b) 5
(c) 2
(d) 3

Question. The kinetic energies of a planet in an elliptical orbit about the Sun, at positions A, B and C are KA, KB and KC, respectively. AC is the major axis and SB is perpendicular to AC at the position of the Sun S as shown in the figure. Then

(a) K_A < K_B < K_C
(b) K_A > K_B > KC
(c) K_B < K_A < K_C
(d) K_B > K_A > K_C

Question. The distance of two planets from the sun are 10¹³ m and 10¹² m respectively. The ratio of time periods of the planets is
(a) √10
(b) 10 √10
(c) 10
(d) 1/ √10 

Question. The largest and the shortest distance of the earth from the sun are r₁ and r₂. Its distance from the sun when it is at perpendicular to the major-axis of the orbit drawn from the sun is

Question.Two astronauts are floating in gravitational free space after having lost contact with their spaceship. The two will
(a) move towards each other
(b) move away from each other
(c) will become stationary
(d) keep floating at the same distance between them. 

Question. A body of weight 72 N moves from the surface of earth at a height half of the radius of earth, then gravitational force exerted on it will be
(a) 36 N
(b) 32 N
(c) 144 N
(d) 50 N 

Question. Dependence of intensity of gravitational field (E) of earth with distance (r) from centre of earth is correctly represented by

Question. Two particles of equal mass m go around a circle of radius R under the action of their mutual gravitational attraction. The speed v of each particle is

Question. The density of a newly discovered planet is twice that of earth. The acceleration due to gravity at the surface of the planet is equal to that at the surface of the earth. If the radius of the earth is R, the radius of the planet would be
(a) 2R
(b) 4R
(c) (1/4) R
(d) (1/2) R

Question. Kepler’s third law states that square of period of revolution (T) of a planet around the sun, is proportional to third power of average distance r between sun and planet i.e. T² = Kr³ here K is constant. If the masses of sun and planet are M and m respectively then as per Newton’s law of gravitation force of attraction between them is F = G Mm / r² , here G is gravitational constant. The relation between G and K is described as
(a) K = G
(b) K = 1/g
(c) GK = 4π²
(d) GMK = 4π²

Question. The acceleration due to gravity on the planet A is 9 times the acceleration due to gravity on planet B. A man jumps to a height of 2 m on the surface of A. What is the height of jump by the same person on the planet B ?
(a) (2/9) m
(b) 18 m
(c) 6 m
(d) (2/3) m

Question. The earth (mass = 6 × 10²⁴ kg) revolves around the sun with an angular velocity of 2 × 10^–7 rad/s in a circular orbit of radius 1.5 × 10⁸ km. The force exerted by the sun on the earth, in newton, is
(a) 36 × 10²¹
(b) 27 × 10³⁹
(c) zero
(d) 18 × 10²⁵

Question. If the gravitational force between two objects were proportional to 1/R (and not as 1/R²), where R is the distance between them, then a particle in a circular path (under such a force) would have its orbital speed v, proportional to
(a) R
(b) R⁰ (independent of R)
(c) 1/R²
(d) 1/R

Question. Which one of the following plots represents the variation of gravitational field on a particle with distance r due to a thin spherical shell of radius R? (r is measured from the centre of the spherical shell)

Question. Two spheres of masses m and M are situated in air and the gravitational force between them is F. The space around the masses is now filled with a liquid of specific gravity 3. The gravitational force will now be
(a) 3 F
(b) F
(c) F/3
(d) F/9 

Question. Gravitational force is required for
(a) stirring of liquid
(b) convection
(c) conduction
(d) radiation 

Question. If the mass of the Sun were ten times smaller and the universal gravitational constant were ten times larger in magnitude, which of the following is not correct?
(a) Raindrops will fall faster.
(b) Walking on the ground would become more difficult.
(c) Time period of a simple pendulum on the Earth would decrease.
(d) g on the Earth will not change.

Question. A spherical planet has a mass M_p and diameter D_p. A particle of mass m falling freely near the surface of this planet will experience an acceleration due to gravity, equal to

Question. What will be the formula of mass of the earth in terms of g, R and G ?
(a) G(R/g)
(b) G(R2/G)
(c) G2(R/g)
(d) G(g/R)

Question. Imagine a new planet having the same density as that of earth but it is 3 times bigger than the earth in size. If the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of earth is g and that on the surface of the new planet is g′, then
(a) g′ = g/9
(b) g′ = 27g
(c) g′ = 9g
(d) g′ = 3g

Question. The acceleration due to gravity at a height 1 km above the earth is the same as at a depth d below the surface of earth. Then
(a) d = 1 km
(b) d = (3/2) km
(c) d = 2 km
(d) d = (1/2) km

Question. The height at which the weight of a body becomes (1/16)^th, its weight on the surface of earth (radius R), is
(a) 5R
(b) 15R
(c) 3R
(d) 4R

Question. The acceleration due to gravity g and mean density of the earth r are related by which of the following relations? (where G is the gravitational constant and R is the radius of the earth.)

Question. The radius of earth is about 6400 km and that of mars is 3200 km. The mass of the earth is about 10 times mass of mars. An object weighs 200 N on the surface of earth. Its weight on the surface of mars will be
(a) 20 N
(b) 8 N
(c) 80 N
(d) 40 N

Question. Starting from the centre of the earth having radius R, the variation of g (acceleration due to gravity) is shown by

Question. A body weighs 72 N on the surface of the earth. What is the gravitational force on it, at a height equal to half the radius of the earth?
(a) 48 N
(b) 32 N
(c) 30 N
(d) 24 N

Question. At what height from the surface of earth the gravitation potential and the value of g are –5.4 × 10⁷ J kg^–1 and 6.0 m s^–2 respectively? Take the radius of earth as 6400 km.
(a) 1400 km
(b) 2000 km
(c) 2600 km
(d) 1600 km

Question. Infinite number of bodies, each of mass 2 kg are situated on x-axis at distances 1 m, 2 m, 4 m, 8 m, …, respectively, from the origin. The resulting gravitational potential due to this system at the origin will be
(a) – (4/3) G
(b) – 4G
(c) – G
(d) – (8/3) G

Question. The dependence of acceleration due to gravity g on the distance r from the centre of the earth, assumed to be a sphere of radius R and of uniform density is as shown in figures.

The correct figure is
(a) (4)
(b) (1)
(c) (2)
(d) (3)

Question. A body weighs 200 N on the surface of the earth. How much will it weigh half way down to the centre of the earth ?
(a) 100 N
(b) 150 N
(c) 200 N
(d) 250 N

Question. The work done to raise a mass m from the surface of the earth to a height h, which is equal to the radius of the earth, is

Question. A body of mass m is placed on earth’s surface which is taken from earth surface to a height of h = 3R, then change in gravitational potential energy is
(a) mgR/4
(b) (2/3)mgR
(c) (3/4)mgR
(d) mgR/2

Question. A particle of mass M is situated at the centre of a spherical shell of same mass and radius a. The magnitude of the gravitational potential at a point situated at a/2 distance from the centre, will be
(a) GM/a
(b) 2GM/a
(c) 3GM/a
(d) 4GM/a

Question. The radius of a planet is twice the radius of earth. Both have almost equal average mass-densities. V_P and V_E are escape velocities of the planet and the earth, respectively, then
(a) V_P = 1.5 V_E
(b) V_P = 2 V_E
(c) V_E = 3 V_P
(d) V_E = 1.5 V_P

Question. A body of mass ‘m’ is taken from the earth’s surface to the height equal to twice the radius (R) of the earth. The change in potential energy of body will be
(a) 3mgR
(b) (1/3)mgR
(c) mg 2R
(d) (2/3)mgR

Question. The ratio of escape velocity at earth (v_e) to the escape velocity at a planet (v_p) whose radius and mean density are twice as that of earth is
(a) 1 : 4
(b) 1: 2
(c) 1 : 2
(d)1: 2 2

Question. A black hole is an object whose gravitational field is so strong that even light cannot escape from it. To what approximate radius would earth (mass = 5.98 × 10²⁴ kg) have to be compressed to be a black hole?
(a) 10^–9 m
(b) 10^–6 m
(c) 10^–2 m
(d) 100 m

Question. A particle of mass ‘m’ is kept at rest at a height ‘3R’ from the surface of earth, where ‘R’ is radius of earth and ‘M’ is mass of earth. The minimum speed with which it should be projected, so that it does not return back, is (g is acceleration due to gravity on the surface of earth)

Question. A particle of mass m is thrown upwards from the surface of the earth, with a velocity u. The mass and the radius of the earth are, respectively, M and R. G is gravitational constant and g is acceleration due to gravity on the surface of the earth. The minimum value of u so that the particle does not return back to earth, is

Question. With what velocity should a particle be projected so that its height becomes equal to radius of earth?

Question. The escape velocity of a sphere of mass m is given by (G = Universal gravitational constant; M_e = Mass of the earth and R_e = Radius of the earth)

Question. A remote-sensing satellite of earth revolves in a circular orbit at a height of 0.25 × 10⁶ m above the surface of earth. If earth’s radius is 6.38 × 10⁶ m and g = 9.8 m s^–2, then the orbital speed of the satellite is
(a) 9.13 km s^–1
(b) 6.67 km s^–1
(c) 7.76 km s^–1
(d) 8.56 km s^–1

Question. The escape velocity of a body on the surface of the earth is 11.2 km/s. If the earth’s mass increases to twice its present value and radius of the earth becomes half, the escape velocity becomes
(a) 22.4 km/s
(b) 44.8 km/s
(c) 5.6 km/s
(d) 11.2 km/s

Question. The earth is assumed to be a sphere of radius R. A platform is arranged at a height R from the surface of the earth. The escape velocity of a body from this platform is fv, where v is its escape velocity from the surface of the Earth. The value of f is
(a) 1/2
(b) 2
(c) 1/ 2
(d) 1/3

Question. For a planet having mass equal to mass of the earth but radius is one fourth of radius of the earth. The escape velocity for this planet will be
(a) 11.2 km/s
(b) 22.4 km/s
(c) 5.6 km/s
(d) 44.8 km/s

Question. The escape velocity from earth is 11.2 km/s. If a body is to be projected in a direction making an angle 45° to the vertical, then the escape velocity is
(a) 11.2 × 2 km/s
(b) 11.2 km/s
(c) 11.2 / 2 km/s
(d) 11.2 2 km/s

Question. The time period of a geostationary satellite is 24 h, at a height 6R_E (R_E is radius of earth) from surface of earth. The time period of another satellite whose height is 2.5 R_E from surface will be,
(a) 6√2h
(b) 12√2 h
(c) (242.5)h
(d) (12/2.5)h

Question. If ve is escape velocity and vo is orbital velocity of a satellite for orbit close to the earth’s suface, then these are related by
(a) v_o = √2v_e
(b) v_o = v_e
(c) v_e = √2v_o
(d) v_e = √2v_o

Question. A satellite S is moving in an elliptical orbit around the earth. The mass of the satellite is very small compared to the mass of the earth. Then,
(a) the linear momentum of S remains constant in magnitude
(b) the acceleration of S is always directed towards the centre of the earth
(c) the angular momentum of S about the centre of the earth changes in direction, but its magnitude remains constant
(d) the total mechanical energy of S varies periodically with time

Question. A ball is dropped from a spacecraft revolving around the earth at a height of 120 km. What will happen to the ball?
(a) it will fall down to the earth gradually
(b) it will go very far in the space
(c) it will continue to move with the same speed along the original orbit of spacecraft
(d) it will move with the same speed, tangentially to the spacecraft. 

Question. A geostationary satellite is orbiting the earth at a height of 5R above the surface of the earth, R being the radius of the earth. The time period of another satellite in hours at a height of 2R from the surface of the earth is
(a) 5
(b) 10
(c) 6√2
(d) 6/√2

Question. For a satellite escape velocity is 11 km/s. If the satellite is launched at an angle of 60° with the vertical, then escape velocity will be
(a) 11 km/s
(b) 11√3 km/s
(c) (11/√3) km/s
(d) 33 km/s

Question. The radii of circular orbits of two satellites A and B of the earth, are 4R and R, respectively. If the speed of satellite A is 3V, then the speed of satellite B will be
(a) 3V/4
(b) 6V
(c) 12V
(d) 3v/2

Question. For a satellite moving in an orbit around the earth, the ratio of kinetic energy to potential energy is
(a) 1/√2
(b) 1/√2
(c) 2
(d) 2

Question. A satellite A of mass m is at a distance of r from the centre of the earth. Another satellite B of mass 2m is at a distance of 2r from the earth’s centre. Their time periods are in the ratio of
(a) 1 : 2
(b) 1 : 16
(c) 1 : 32
(d) 1: 2 2

Question. The additional kinetic energy to be provided to a satellite of mass m revolving around a planet of mass M, to transfer it from a circular orbit of radius R₁ to another of radius R₂ (R₂ > R₁) is

Question. Two satellites of earth, S₁ and S₂ are moving in the same orbit. The mass of S₁ is four times the mass of S₂. Which one of the following statements is true?
(a) The potential energies of earth and satellite in the two cases are equal.
(b) S₁ and S₂ are moving with the same speed.
(c) The kinetic energies of the two satellites are equal.
(d) The time period of S₁ is four times that of S₂.

Question. The satellite of mass m is orbiting around the earth in a circular orbit with a velocity v. What will be its total energy ?
(a) (3/4)mv²
(b) (1/2)mv²
(c) mv²
(d) –(1/2)mv² 

Question. A satellite of mass m is orbiting the earth (of radius R) at a height h from its surface. The total energy of the satellite in terms of g₀, the value of acceleration due to gravity at the earth’s surface, is