Home Physics Gravitation General Let V and E denote the gravitational potenti…
Physics Gravitation General Subjective Type
Published on: September 12, 2026

Let V and E denote the gravitational potential and gravitational field respectively at a point due to certain uniform mass distribution described in four different situations of column-I. Assume the gravitational potential at infinity to be zero.The value of E and V are given in column-II. Match the statement in column-I with results in column-II.

Column-I

Column-II

(A)

At center of thin spherical shell

(P)

E = 0

(B)

At center of solid sphere

(Q)

E  0

(C)

A solid sphere has a non-concentric spherical cavity. At the center of the spherical cavity

(R)

V  0

(D)

At center of line joining two point masses of equal magnitude

(S)

V = 0

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Text Solution

Verified by Experts
The correct answer is:
A
Step 1: At the center of a thin spherical shell, we can apply the shell theorem which states that the gravitational field inside a uniformly distributed spherical shell is zero. Therefore, at the center of the shell,
  • Gravitational Field (E) = 0
  • Gravitational Potential (V) ≠ 0 (as it is constant throughout the shell).
Step 2: At the center of a solid sphere, by using the formula for gravitational field within the solid sphere (which increases linearly from zero at the center to a maximum at the surface),
  • Gravitational Field (E) = 0 at the center.
  • Gravitational Potential (V) ≠ 0 (it is maximum here).
Step 3: For a solid sphere with a non-concentric spherical cavity, the gravitational potential at any point inside the cavity (including the center) is still non-zero, but the gravitational field could be non-zero as well depending on the positions of mass. Thus,
  • Gravitational Field (E) ≠ 0 because the cavity disrupts the symmetry.
  • Gravitational Potential (V) ≠ 0 when considering the influence of mass outside the cavity and at least some contribution from the mass that is present.
Step 4: For the center of the line joining two point masses of equal magnitude, by symmetry, the gravitational field due to both masses cancels out:
  • Gravitational Field (E) = 0 at the midpoint.
  • Gravitational Potential (V) = 0 at the midpoint as the potentials from both masses cancel each other out.

Conclusion: By matching the statements based on our analysis, we have:
  • (A) matches with (P): E = 0.
  • (B) matches with (R): V ≠ 0
  • (C) matches with (Q): E ≠ 0, V ≠ 0.
  • (D) matches with (S): V = 0.
Therefore, the correct match for A is P: E = 0.

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