Gravitation JEE Main Questions 2025: Important Practice Questions with PYQs

1.

It is possible to put an artificial satellite into orbit in such a way that it will always remain directly over New Delhi.

Ans. (False) New Delhi is not on the equatorial plane while the geostationary satellite is launched on the equa­torial plane. Hence the statement is false.

2.

Statement 1: An astronaut in an orbiting space station above the Earth experiences weightlessness.

Statement – 2: An object moving around the Earth under the influence of Earth’s gravitational force is in

Ans. (a) If only the gravitational force of the Earth acts on the astronaut, (that, he is in a state of free fall), he will feel weightless. Statement 2 is a correct explanation of statement 1.

3.

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.

a) The acceleration of S is always directed towards the centre of the earth.

b) The angular momentum of S about the centre of the earth changes in direction, but its magnitude remains constant.

c) The total mechanical energy of S varies periodically with time.

d) The linear momentum of S remains constant in magnitude.

Ans. (a), (c) a) Force on satellite (S) of the earth is always towards earth which attracts the satellite with the gravitational force. Hence the acceleration of S is always directed towards the centre of earth Option (a) is correct.

b)The torque of gravitational force about the centre of the earth is zero. Therefore, angular momentum remains constant in magnitude as well as direction. Option (b) is not correct

c)The gravitational force is conservative in nature. The mechanical energy of the satellite, therefore, remains constant. The speed of a satellite varies periodically as it varies with distance from Earth. Speed of S is maximum when it is nearest to Earth and minimum when it is farthest. Thus the mechanical energy of S varies periodically with time. Option (c) is thus correct.

d)Since the magnitude of the velocity of S varies along its elliptic orbit, the linear momentum of S does not remain constant in magnitude. Option (d) is not correct.

4.

Given below are two statements:

Statement I: Acceleration due to gravity is different at different places on the surface of the earth.

Statement II: Acceleration due to gravity increases as we go down below the earth's surface.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below

• Both statements I and II are true
• Both statements I and II are false
• Statement I is false but statement II is true
• Statement I is true but Statement II is false

Ans. Statement I is true. The acceleration due to gravity varies slightly over the surface of the Earth, being affected by factors such as latitude (because of the Earth's oblate shape or its equatorial bulge), altitude (it decreases with height above the Earth's surface), and local geological variations in the Earth's density.

5.

Given below are two statements:

Statement I: For a planet, if the ratio of the mass of the planet to its radius increases, the escape velocity from the planet also increases.

Statement II: Escape velocity is independent of the radius of the planet.

In the light of above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below

• Both statements I and II are correct
• Statement I is correct but statement II is incorrect
• Both statements I and II are incorrect
• Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

Ans. Statement I suggests that the escape velocity of a planet increases with an increase in the ratio of its mass to its radius. This statement is consistent with the formula for escape velocity, which shows that the escape velocity of a planet is directly proportional to the square root of its mass and inversely proportional to the square root of its radius. Hence, the most appropriate answer is: Statement I is true

6.

Two satellites A and B move around the earth in the same orbit. The mass of A is twice the mass of B. The quantity which is the same for the two satellites will be

• Potential Energy
• Kinetic Energy
• Total Energy
• Speed

Ans. The quantity which is the same for the two satellites will be speed.

The orbital speed of a satellite is independent of the mass of the satellite, but it depends on the radius of the orbit. Potential energy, kinetic energy and total energy depend on the mass of the satellite.

Therefore, the only quantity that is the same for the two satellites is speed.

7.

Every planet revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit:-

A. The force acting on a planet is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the sun.

B. Force acting on the planet is inversely proportional to the product of the masses of the planet and the sun.

C. The Centripetal force acting on the planet is directed away from the sun.

D. The square of time period of the revolution of the planet around the sun is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of elliptical orbit.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

• C and D only
• B and C only
• A and D only
• A and C only

Ans. A. The force acting on a planet is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the sun. This is known as the inverse square law and is described by Newton's law of gravitation.

B. Force acting on a planet is inversely proportional to the product of the masses of the planet and the sun. This is also described by Newton's law of gravitation, but it is not directly related to the planet's elliptical orbit.

C. The centripetal force acting on the planet is directed towards the sun, not away from it.

D. The square of the time period of revolution of a planet around the sun is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit. This is known as Kepler's third law.

Therefore, only A and D are correct.

8.

Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R.

Assertion A: Earth has atmosphere whereas moon doesn't have any atmosphere.

Reason R: The escape velocity on the moon is very small as compared to that on Earth.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A is false but R is true
• Both A and R are correct but R is not the correct explanation of A
• Both A and R are correct but R is the correct explanation of A
• A is true but R is false

Ans. The assertion (A) is true: Earth does have an atmosphere, while the Moon does not have a significant atmosphere.

The reason (R) is also true: The escape velocity on the Moon is indeed smaller than that on Earth. The escape velocity is the minimum velocity an object must have to escape the gravitational pull of a planet or moon. A smaller escape velocity means it's easier for particles (such as the particles that make up an atmosphere) to escape into space.

Additionally, the reason (R) is a correct explanation for the assertion (A). The fact that the Moon's escape velocity is smaller than the Earth's is a major reason why the Moon doesn't have a significant atmosphere. Over time, particles that could have made up an atmosphere have escaped the Moon's gravitational pull and dispersed into space.

9.

Given below are two statements:

Statement I: Acceleration due to the earth's gravity decreases as you go 'up' or 'down' from the earth's surface.

Statement II: Acceleration due to the earth's gravity is the same at a height 'h' and depth 'd' from the earth's surface if h = d.

In the light of above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below

• Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
• Both Statements I and II are correct
• Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
• Both Statements I and II are incorrect

Ans. Statement I is correct as acceleration due to Earth's gravity decreases as you move away from its surface either upward or downward. This is because the gravity of the Earth follows an inverse square law, which means that the gravitational force decreases as the square of the distance between two objects increases.

10.

Inside a uniform spherical shell :

(1) the gravitational field is zero

(2) the gravitational potential is zero

(3) the gravitational field is the same everywhere

(4) the gravitational potential is the same everywhere

(5) all of the above

Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :

• 1, 3 and 4 only
• 5 only
• 1, 2 and 3 only
• 2, 3 and 4 only

Ans. Inside a spherical shell, the gravitational field is zero and hence potential remains the same everywhere.

11.

Given below are two statements: One is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R.

Assertion A: If we move from the poles to the equator, the direction of acceleration due to the gravity of the earth always points towards the centre of the earth without any variation in its magnitude.

Reason R: At the equator, the direction of acceleration due to gravity is towards the centre of the earth.

In the light of above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
• Both A and R are true and R is not the correct explanation of A
• A is true but R is false
• A is false but R is true

Ans. Assertion A is false. While the direction of acceleration due to gravity does always point towards the centre of the Earth, its magnitude actually varies from the poles to the equator. This is due to the Earth's rotation and the fact that Earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate spheroid, meaning it's slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator.

Reason R is true. At the equator, the direction of acceleration due to gravity is towards the center of the Earth.

12.

Given below are two statements :

Statement I: The law of gravitation holds good for any pair of bodies in the universe.

Statement II: The weight of any person becomes zero when the person is at the centre of the earth.

In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below.

• Both Statements I and II are true
• Both Statements I and II are false
• Statement I is true but Statement II is false
• Statement I is false bur Statement II is true

Ans. Statement I is true. Newton's law of universal gravitation states that every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centres. This law applies to any pair of bodies in the universe.

13.

A planet revolving in an elliptical orbit has :

A. a constant velocity of revolution.

B. has the least velocity when it is nearest to the sun.

C. its areal velocity is directly proportional to its velocity.

D. areal velocity is inversely proportional to its velocity.

E. to follow a trajectory such that the areal velocity is constant.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

• D only
• E only
• C only
• A only

Ans. According to Kepler’s second law of planetary motion, the areal velocity of every planet moving around the sun should remain constant in elliptical orbit.