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Introduction

In this chapter we will discuss one of the fundamental laws of physics: Newton’s law of gravitation there is a force of attraction between any two point masses that is proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of their separation; the force is directed along the line joining the two masses.

We will apply it to the motion of bodies such as satellites and planets that orbit a fixed body.

We will see that the three laws of planetary motion deduced by Kepler are a direct consequence of Newton’s laws.

In the AHL material, we will examine the details of motion in a gravitational field.